Apprenticeships

An Apprenticeship is a valuable and recognized programme. Apprentices learn on the job, building up knowledge and skills, gaining qualifications and earning money all at the same time. There are no set entry requirements for Apprenticeships, but you do have to be aged 16 to 25 years old. If you are older than this, then we may be able to offer you stand alone qualifications - please contact us for information or for a confidential discussion.

The Apprenticeship is suitable if you are a school leaver aged 16 to 18, or a young person who has little experience working in Early Years. You would have a job and a wage, or be on a work placement with a weekly training allowance. The training is adaptable to suit your job requirements and is a very practical alternative to further or higher education or accepting employment without training.

If you are considering a career in childcare, why not come along to one of our recruitment open days? These are held regularly and will give you an opportunity to find out more about Puffins Training and the courses we can offer. For further information, or to find out when the next recruitment day will be, contact us .

Apprenticeships are available in a wide range of subjects, and at Puffins Training we offer Apprenticeships in Early Years Care and Education. Your training will cover key skills such as communication and numeracy.

Your work placement would generally be in one of Puffins of Exeter ’s nurseries, although you can be placed at any nursery setting, in either Exeter or Torquay. During term time, you would attend one day a week day release at our Exeter Training Centre.

Whether or not you’re certain that you want a career in childcare, we can arrange for you to do one of our “taster days” before embarking on an Apprenticeship programme. You would be welcomed into one of Puffins of Exeter ’s nurseries, where you would spend the day shadowing one of their experienced staff. You can decide at the end of the day whether or not to apply for one of our training placements.

Achieving the Apprenticeship means that you would get a National Vocational Qualification at Level 2 in Children's Care, Learning and Development (equivalent to 5 GCSE's), a Level 2 Certificate in Children's Care, Learning and Development and Key Skills at level 1 or 2 in Communication and Application of Number. You also get training in paediatric first aid, and in employment rights and responsibilities.

If this sounds like a lot to take on, don’t worry – most of your learning and assessment takes place on-the-job, and you get plenty of support from your tutor, assessor and work based mentor.

It usually takes around 12 months to get an Apprenticeship.

Costs: Funding is generally available from the Learning and Skills Council. Please contact us  for more information or to discuss your specific requirements in confidence.

Progression: The apprenticeship is suitable for those who want to work as nursery assistants, playworker assistants, toy library workers, mother's helps, babysitters or au pairs and is a valuable first step in building a career in early years. Once you have completed an apprenticeship in Children's care, learning and development you can progress onto a level 3 course, equivalent to a diploma or A'levels, which is a requirement for nursery nurses and playworkers and many other early years careers.

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