Council and college join forces to encourage people to step into a career in early years

Wiltshire Council is working alongside Wiltshire College and University Centre to promote a 10-week early years course. This unique partnership aims to create easier access to childcare professions.

The programme will start in March 2024 and will offer the opportunity for those interested in early years to gain a qualification and have a career in this sector.

The programme spans ten weeks, with participants attending three days per week, starting at 9:30 am-2:00 pm. It will be delivered as a blended approach with face-to-face and online teaching via Microsoft Teams.

Students will learn and understand Safeguarding and Prevention along with online safety. The Child Development programme will further give the knowledge and understanding of social and emotional development and the importance of play and play for early years.  Students will build an employability portfolio encompassing the programme’s elements. 

There are 30 places available between the Salisbury and Chippenham Campus.

On completion, learners can participate in mock interviews to prepare them for a work placement. They can also progress onto early years practitioners or an apprenticeship.

Cllr Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “This is a very good example of working together to make it easy for people wanting to work in early years to both have the training and then the opportunities following that training.

“Working in early years and providing that support for babies and young children before they go to school is a very special area of work and can be immensely rewarding. As demand for early years provision grows, we are putting in place the foundation blocks to ensure people can have rewarding careers and provide much needed support for our families.”

Lisa Cuffy, Adult Learning and Commercial Enterprise Manager at the college added: “This is an exciting opportunity to work with Wiltshire Council to address this key local skills shortage. The College has a long history of delivering high quality training in this key sector and looks forward to supporting local people into local jobs, much needed by our community.”

If you have a passion for working with children and have thought about stepping into a career in early years and would like to discuss this further, please contact Adult Learning adultlearning@wiltshire.ac.uk or contact on 0845 345 2235.