Working with tots is lots of fun
and qualifications available, you can build your career according to the way you like to learn.
You can do work based qualifications, or attend college/ university. Either way, you get lots of hands-on practice.
You might start as an Early Learning and Childcare support worker, progress to practitioner and become a manager further down the line. There are lots of opportunities for progression.
If you know someone looking for a job that’s rewarding, fun and has the potential to change lives, then Early Learning and Childcare could be a great career for them.
●Log on to www.childcare careersscotland.scot to find out more about a career in Early Learning and Childcare. Steven White, 38, from Edinburgh, lives and works as a nursery manager in Perthshire.
Before beginning his career in Early Learning and Childcare, Steven was working as a supply lecturer in Outdoor Education and was studying for a Post Graduate Diploma in Outdoor Education, as well as lecturing for two colleges in Scotland.
Steven started out as an Early Learning and Childcare Practitioner and completed his SVQ3 on the job.
For Steven, the most enjoyable part of his job as nursery manager is having the ability to share his time between nurturing the children’s education, and supporting the careers and building the confidence of the staff he works with and manages.
Steven has big ambitions and hopes to open his own nursery practice over the next five years, and deliver a consultancy service that offers both in-house and external training for Early Learning and Childcare Practitioners.
On working in Early Learning and Childcare, Steven said:“I believe that if we are to make a significant shift in our society, then Early Years Education is where such changes should begin.
“The way we connect with children provides the building blocks for how they perceive themselves in the future.
“Their inner voice is created in these Early Years and we have a responsibility to nurture the very best in our children for them to become the best they can be throughout life.
“The reality of working in Early Learning and Childcare can be difficult, but the ability of our youngest children to learn beyond what is regularly thought of as their perceived best, how adaptable children are, and how willing they are to engage in new experiences never ceases to surprise me.
“For anyone considering a career in Early Learning and Childcare, I’d say, keep an open mind and expect to be challenged from the very core of your beliefs.
“Enjoy every minute, because it will fly past you in the blink of an eye, and don’t get caught up taking things too seriously.
“Remember to have fun!”