Over at our Flying Start Centre on Skomer Road, our Level 2 apprentice has gone on to study at level 3 in childcare. Managers Sue O’Neill and Jo Flaherty tell us about the successes of hiring an apprentice into role:
“Having the opportunity to recruit a childcare apprentice into our childcare team was of mutual benefit to both the apprentice and ourselves.
"We were able to provide an environment for our apprentice to learn the skills and experiences needed to achieve their qualification, whilst also providing experience of working with children. Being in a working environment enabled our apprentice to gain valuable people skills and prepare them for the world of work.
"Our apprentice soon became a team member and was able to access a raft of training both in-house on iDev and externally. This included GDPR Essentials, Paediatric First Aid and Safeguarding.
"For ourselves, the benefits were manyfold. Our current childcare workers were able to mentor and support our apprentice and demonstrate best-practice. Mentoring provided opportunities for our childcare staff to upskill and build on their own confidence.
"When our apprentice commenced her Level 3 apprenticeship in Children’s Care, Learning and Development were able to include her in the adult to child ratios as set by our registration with CIW, relieving pressure on our team and further developing the apprentice’s skills. She soon became an essential part of the team, sharing ideas on providing a stimulating environment for our children.”