By appointment

Competition to attract and retain good quality early years workers is set to become fiercer. So, says June O'Sullivan, it pays to put staff training at the top of a setting's agenda There is no doubt that the early years sector faces a recruitment and retention issue. There has been a 94 per cent growth in the sector since 1997, increasing competition for staff in an already squeezed sector. In the last year 59 per cent of nurseries had trouble recruiting.