UK 
United StatesSome apprenticeships can be run as a tick-box exercise. However, this is not the case at Bright Horizons, a leading provider of high-quality early education and childcare. The business operates around 300 community and workplace nurseries across the UK, and its home-grown apprenticeship scheme is breaking down barriers to deliver a unique experience for joiners.
This scheme is aligned with childcare and education best practices and is bolstered by an internal support team. With a guaranteed job from the start, in addition to a qualification, this ‘earn as you learn’ scheme offers an attractive route into the workplace for school leavers and those looking to change careers.
Apprenticeships are increasingly growing in popularity. In the 2023/24 academic year in England, there were 278,590 apprenticeship starts, which is a 1.1% increase compared to the previous year. For many, the costs of university and the increasingly high bar of expected grades has made learning through work and gaining a qualification while receiving a salary a more attractive prospect. Bright Horizons spoke to HR Grapevine about their scheme and why it forms such a crucial part of their talent pipeline.
The apprenticeship programme at the childcare and education business offers qualifications ranging between level two and level seven. Over 600 apprentices are enrolled, making up nearly 8% of their colleagues.
James Sharrod
Pathways Manager
James Sharrod, Pathways Manager at Bright Horizons explains, “The majority of our apprenticeships are early years. We offer other options, but the business has played into where the needs are. Entry points are rolling throughout the year and are not necessarily aligned to the end of the academic year or the start of a new one. There are approximately 50 new starters per month. We welcome and encourage apprentices of all ages." Sharrod adds that they have 16-year-olds straight out of school right through to their oldest apprentice aged 58.
“Some join the profession later in life as a second career because an apprenticeship is a great way for people to be able to do that,” he says. The sliding scale of levels equates to more time undertaking the scheme. A level two is an entry level childcare qualification and can take 12 months while the level three takes 18 months.
There are opportunities for existing colleagues to upskill too. Nursery assistants for example can gain their childcare qualification if they wish to do so. That band forms a further 65% of their intake. “It’s a great way to bring people in but also to provide a development pathway for existing colleagues,” says Sharrod.
