Two dedicated apprentices working in a local nursery are proving that it’s never too late to upskill and grow professionally, thanks to the Early Years Level 5 Apprenticeship offered at Bury College.
Kirsty Pilkington and Lauren Beecroft, both long-standing employees at Hoyle Nursery School in Bury, recently decided to take on a Bury College apprenticeship. Whilst they each had slightly different motivations for doing so, they shared the same main goal: to enhance their knowledge and better support their colleagues.
Returning to learning
Lauren, an already qualified Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA), started the Early Years Level 5 apprenticeship to deepen her understanding of early years practice.
“I’m already a HLTA but I wanted to do something at a higher level. The apprenticeship fits in with work and is manageable. It’s allowing me to support my colleagues more”.
After being in the workplace for 20 years, getting back into completing assignments felt like a bit of a challenge, but Lauren quickly overcame it. In fact, she’s now considering further study!
“I hadn’t done assignments since school, so completing them was hard but refreshing. Maybe I’ll do more qualifications when I’ve finished my apprenticeship!”