We need to persuade the Government that there is no place for a labour-market model in the childcare workforce for the future. CACHE's - and the sector's -model is that childcare is a skilled occupation, with a defined identity requiring practical and analytical skills and social competencies.
And it is not only an occupation in its own right - it links into the wider social care sectors and provides a clear progression route to other areas. The important point for the future is that the Vocational Education and Training model is not just one to be applied to young people. It is vitally important that it is available to the over-25s who make up a significant part of the childcare workforce, a large percentage of whom have no formal education qualifications.
Now you would think this would be very appealing to the Government. They have national training targets to increase the numbers of adults with level 3 qualifications, and they have a commitment to widen participation and reach new learners who may have left formal education with bitter experience of 'failure'.
CACHE has shown there is a huge demand for vocational training, especially in the mature workforce. In just six months, more than 6,000 childminders have registered for one or more or the new, nationally-accredited units of the Certificate in Childminding Practice. Contrary to having to drag people into training, our experience is that there is a real thirst for it.
What I would like to see in this second Labour term is a commitment to a vision for the childcare workforce which acknowledges the professionalism of the whole sector, and includes training, development, pay and conditions, to match the commitment to improve services for children and families.
