Inspiring a Future in Childcare

Inspiring a Future in Childcare

The childcare industry is facing a recruitment crisis with not enough childcarers to fill the childcare jobs, so Tinies Childcare have created our Inspiring a Future in Childcare campaign to raise awareness, in the hope that it will attract more people into the industry.

In the modern world, many families need both parents to work. Finding safe, affordable, quality childcare is invaluable to enabling parents to return to work. So Tinies are working with a number of stakeholders from within the childcare sector and out, including the Department for Education, National Careers Service, Education and Employers Charity and The Careers & Enterprise Company to look at ways to encourage more people, especially young people, into the Early Years sector who may not be aware of the opportunities that exist.

 

Find out what you can do to get more involved in the Campaign:

 

Careers England have advised that in today's dynamic economy, more opportunities are opening up for young people. "But if young people are to be able to make the most of the opportunities available to them, they need the right information and advice - at the right times - tailored to them as individuals".

Tinies Childcare is in a unique position to raise awareness of the number of opportunities for employment in the childcare industry as we are the UK's largest and leading childcare company. We have over 30 regional offices across the UK providing a local and knowledgeable, professional and caring childcare recruitment service. We have been looking after parents, their children and childcarers for over 40 years and because we take pride in what we do, we want to ensure that we continue to do this for the next 40. This is another reason why we welcome the opportunity to help put people on the pathway to a rewarding career and will be providing work experience opportunities in the future too.

Through engaging with careers advisors, schools and colleges we hope to promote the variety of opportunities which are available.  We are starting to work in partnership with a number of key organisations, government and nursery settings to help promote our cause, a cause which will benefit everyone with a vested interest in the childcare industry.

"There are no great early years settings without great professionals working in them. It is through campaigns like this that we can promote and inform young people in schools and colleges to consider a career in early years, and continue to attract the brightest and best into this rewarding sector."

Nadhim Zahawi MP, Former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Children and Families

We have gathered a series of testimonials from our candidates in the hope to inspire others to join the world of childcare. If you'd like to share your story and add it to our campaign, simply let us know.

By taking action now, we hope to counter the challenges of a diminishing number of qualified childcarers brought about by factors which included the government requirement introduced in 2014 for anyone pursing a childcare qualification to have to hold a Maths & English GCSE. This requirement created situations where some colleges were having to drop the number of childcare courses they were operating. The return to functional skills recently announced in the government's Workforce Strategy 2017 is a much welcomed critical step in revitalising the industry and reversing the current recruitment crisis we have been experiencing.

Another factor impacting the recruitment crisis is the expansion of the Government's funded childcare offering for three and four year olds. The offering of 30 hours a week in 2017 for working parents could mean nurseries struggle to recruit enough qualified staff to meet the extra demand for places.  And for parents who require nannies, there is an ever shrinking pool of quality childcarers to do these roles. Again, that is why Tinies is launching the campaign to attract more workers to both nanny and nursery roles.

The shortage of skilled labour joining the marketplace and the need for childcare to support working parents has to be a catalyst for some much needed changes. It is hoped that in the future, steps being taken now will start to raise the perception of the status of a childcarer in the UK, to that of a highly valued profession. Encouraging more people to pursue a career in childcare and encouraging greater awareness and recognition of the valuable contribution childcarers make to society. Childcare professionals are critical to the infrastructure of today's economy, without them millions of working parents would not be able to work!

A career in childcare suits people who are caring and passionate about making a difference to the world they live in and who are seeking a role which will offer immense job satisfaction. What could be more rewarding than nurturing children who will build our tomorrow?

Don't just take our word for it - read what our childcarers have to say about the reasons they joined the industry and why they find their jobs so rewarding.

If you are interested in becoming a childcarer in the future, pop your postcode into the "Find Your Local Agency" blue box and contact your local Tinies Childcare branch for guidance and advice. You can also explore our Childcare Careers Guidance which provides you with other organisations that can provide you with guidance on the qualifications/apprenticeships that you can consider to enable you to become a childcarer.

Visit our Supporters Page to see who's backing the Inspiring a Future in Childcare campaign:

NDNA   Pre-school Learning Alliance   Morton Michel    National Careers Service   Fair Train   

Education and Employers   Inspiring the Future   Careers England  PACEY     The Careers and Enterprise Company  Regulation Matters  dot 2 dot     Broaden HR    CDI 

icp nurseries
CareerMap       LEYF    The Co-operative Childcare   CACHE Busy Bees Training Academy    Voice Action for ChildrenFoundation Years

 
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We used Tinies for our Annual Employee Conference and they were great. I've had great feedback from all of the parents. We would definitely recommend Tinies crèches - their organisation skills are great and they create the perfect atmosphere. We will be using them again at our next conference! 5 stars!
Natalie, Hitachi Consulting, Conference Crèche