Child care professionals share a commitment to improving society by creating dynamic and nurturing care environments for Australia's youngest learners. This month we feature an interview with Ute Hunter.

What is your name and where do you work?

My name is Ute Hunter and I am 48 years young. I work at the Brisbane Adventist College Early Learning Centre with 15 other staff members and 90 small children all up.

What is your professional background?

My professional background has been in a variety of different areas. I got my first degree as a professional dressmaker and I also have a degree in therapeutic massage.

I have worked with multi handicapped children and adults in Austria and in a SOS-Children's Home.

I knew as a young child that I wanted to work with children and I took on babysitting as a nine year old with great confidence. (My mother often took me, my sisters and brothers for walks and every time I saw a mother push a pram I would physically stop the pram and look at the babies).

The love for babies comes to me so naturally that it runs through my veins. If my own children, 16 and 12, when shopping with me, see a pram, they look at me and say: "no not this time Mum"

What does a normal day look like for you?

My days at work are filled with lots of fun activities such as painting, craft, puzzles, running, skipping, dancing, reading and whatever the children suggest as long as it is safe of course and much more. I also help with the children’s profiles and with the dishes and laundry and whatever else needs to be done. I love worship time and talking to children about Jesus. Such a chance to share His love and caring in a world where there is little other hope.

What is unique about your centre?

My centre is unique because the people I work with are like a big family and the love and care we have for each other is just amazing. If one is hurting, we pray for each other; if one is happy we rejoice together. We celebrate the love of Jesus and our love for one another. What is also so fantastic is the mix of cultures we have as staff which reflect the many families attending the centre. I just love people from all sorts of walks, experiences and cultural background.

What are the advantages of working in child care?

Some of the advantages of working in child care are that I just love working with children, where my own children are big but also go to the same school where I work in the Primary and Secondary campuses. Everything has just worked out beautifully for me.

What are the biggest challenges of working in the child care sector?

I would say some of the biggest challenge for me in the child care sector is the amount of paper work that is required each year. It feels like more time is needed to do paper work and I would prefer to spend that time with children.

We also have the challenge of wages. We find quality staff members needing to find other work to supplement their weekly wage or leaving the industry altogether. This is very sad, because the work is very rewarding and you need to have the right gifts to do this job well.

How could these challenges be overcome?

It is my opinion that these problems for the industry could be improved by making things simpler again. Staff need to be paid the wage that they really deserve.

What advice would you offer someone thinking about a career in child care?

My advice to someone thinking about going into this industry is, if you are truly loving of children and enjoy caring for them and find joy in seeing them learn take up a role in child care. You should do this if God has given you a gift with children and you feel called into this as a vocation. You will be rich with the blessings that come from the children.

Working with children is such a rewarding job. You are there to laugh with them to comfort and to mould them; you are like a third parent to them because some of them spend more time at the centre than at home. It is a privilege to have parent trust you with their special child and a chance to influence little ones to know the wonderful love of Jesus.