Nursery World - Work Matters: Management Focus - Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships enable nurseries to train up new staff from scratch to their own particular standards, as Karen Faux hears.

Employing an apprentice can have long-term benefits for a nursery, as Kingscliffe Day Nursery in Leicestershire readily testifies.

Manager Alexis McConnachie says, 'Apprenticeship programmes have enabled us to retain key members of staff and help them to move into senior positions. For example, Forida Chowdhury started off as an apprentice and is now a manager. They are an excellent way of bringing young people into a childcare career, which is very important as older people retire or move on.'

For Ms McConnachie it has made sense to nurture home-grown talent at her 32-place nursery, which has just celebrated its tenth anniversary.

'When we have tried to recruit quality staff from other nurseries it hasn't worked particularly well. We would rather train someone up to our own standards from the start,' she says.

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