New sector-led project aims to overcome recruitment crisis

Lead by independent research company Ceeda and funded by the Childbase Partnership, CACHE, Connect Childcare and the Early Years Alliance, the ‘What is Early Years?’ project will look at how the sector is perceived and the best ways to promote the benefits of a career in early years.

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It builds upon discussions at a recent Ceeda workforce roundtable, along with research from its ‘About Early Years’ evidence base, which found that one in four providers have struggled to fill vacancies – treble the figure for employers across all sectors.

Ceeda says that as competition in the labour market intensifies, urgent action is needed to increase the pool of talented individuals considering early years as their first-choice career.

The ‘What is Early Years’ project will gather the views of:

• the current early years workforce and employers – looking at what attracted them into childcare and why they have stayed in the sector.
• the wider labour market – adults in work/looking for work/caring for family full-time or in early retirement
• future entrants to the labour market and those who influence them, for example school pupils, students, parents, careers advisers and teachers.

Dr Jo Verrill, managing director of Ceeda, said, ‘Great things happen when early years colleagues come together, with many brilliant ideas being discussed at our recent workforce roundtable. Thanks to the generosity and vision of project funders, we are thrilled to take forward this exciting project which will reveal how the sector can best communicate what it is, what it does, and what it has to offer people from a range of different backgrounds and circumstances. This is a vital first step towards a national communications campaign, and one which puts the sector firmly in the driving seat.’

Research gets underway next month. To find out more about the project and how to get involved register for Ceeda’s newsletter here.