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Childcare Worker

Education

Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Education

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Maintain a safe play environment.
  2. 2Observe and monitor children's play activities.
  3. 3Communicate with children's parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviors, and related issues.
  4. 4Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.
  5. 5Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for people with disabilities.
  6. 6Sanitize toys and play equipment.
  7. 7Dress children and change diapers.
  8. 8Keep records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered.
  9. 9Identify signs of emotional or developmental problems in children and bring them to parents' or guardians' attention.
  10. 10Instruct children in health and personal habits, such as eating, resting, and toilet habits.
  11. 11Organize and store toys and materials to ensure order in activity areas.
  12. 12Sterilize bottles and prepare formulas.
  13. 13Perform general administrative tasks, such as taking attendance, editing internal paperwork, and making phone calls.
  14. 14Help children with homework and school work.
  15. 15Provide care for children with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities.
  16. 16Create developmentally appropriate lesson plans.
  17. 17Perform housekeeping duties, such as laundry, cleaning, dish washing, and changing of linens.
  18. 18Read to children and teach them simple painting, drawing, handicrafts, and songs.
  19. 19Assist in preparing food and serving meals and refreshments to children.
  20. 20Discipline children and recommend or initiate other measures to control behavior, such as caring for own clothing and picking up toys and books.
  21. 21Perform general personnel functions, such as supervision, training, and scheduling.
  22. 22Regulate children's rest periods.
  23. 23Organize and participate in recreational activities and outings, such as games and field trips.
  24. 24Accompany children to and from school, on outings, and to medical appointments.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Sitter
  • Attendant
  • Caregiver
  • Nursemaid
  • Baby Sitter
  • Parent Aide
  • Daycare Aide
  • Care Provider
  • Child Monitor
  • Child's Nurse

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. Typical entry

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationHigh school diploma

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
BusinessDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EconomicsDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Customer and Personal Service75%
  • English Language70%

    English

  • Education and Training67%
  • Public Safety and Security64%
  • Psychology61%
  • Administration and Management57%

    BusinessEconomics

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Handling conflict situationsEvery day
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never
  • Time walking or movingA little

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

20%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.08%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job — and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

IPG (Teacher Training)

Become a school teacher: fully funded, with an allowance and a guaranteed posting. Apply separately through KPM after SPM.

~5 years

Related careers

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Childcare Workers

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue