As National Apprenticeship Week gets underway, Busy Bees Training manager, Fay Gibbon, has called for apprenticeships to be recognised as a valuable asset needed to create a skilled, quality workforce and urges businesses to factor Apprentices into their future employment strategy.
As the demand for early years’ childcare increases throughout the UK, the need for highly trained and accountable Early Years Educators is rising. To meet this growing demand, Busy Bees has extended its training department. Delivering its in-house training programme since 2003 with funding obtained by the SFA, Busy Bees have delivered their Apprenticeship programme to over 1800 learners, within both Busy Bees nurseries and external smaller, independent nursery settings. By the end of 2015 there will be 1500 learners on the Busy Bees Apprentices on programme.
To observe National Apprenticeship Week, Busy Bees has instigated a number of activities across their portfolio of 237 nurseries to give full recognition to over 600 dedicated learners currently enrolled onto their apprenticeship programme.
Fay Gibbin comments;
“Today, completing an Apprenticeship is a perfectly acceptable route to a stimulating and rewarding career or embarking upon a degree course, yet it is often wrongly assumed that those pursuing a career in childcare lack the aspirations or academic ability to achieve. It’s time that the Care industry as a whole combined its energy and resources and looked at ways of combatting the debilitating ‘hair or care’ reputation it has put up with for so long.
“This common misconception that a career in Early Year’s Education is an easy option for the low achievers is unfortunately still at large with parents, teachers and even some career advisors. This attitude has a direct impact on students who enrol on courses, both in terms of dissuading capable candidates from the offset and lowering the morale and confidence of up and coming childcare professionals – and nothing could be further from the truth.”
Going on to talk about National Apprenticeship Week, Fay says:
“This week’s activities have been put in place as a reminder to our apprentices, staff, parents and wider community just how important they are to all of us. Visits from the senior management team gives our apprentices a real boost, and the opportunity to ask questions about the company and obtain a wider view of where their own career might take them.”
Apprenticeships currently available at Busy Bees are The Children and Young People’s Workforce apprenticeship programme Level 2 and 3, catering level 3 and 3 and Level 3 in Management, along with a number of one day short courses.
To find out more about Busy Bees internal or external Apprenticeships please go to https://bbtraining.com
