Newly-qualified childcarers are entering a sector offering more jobs and greater opportunities than ever before, enabling students to become more ambitious with their choice of career. 'We're not expecting there to be any unemployment of this year's graduates provided they're prepared to travel,' says CACHE chief executive Richard Dorrance.
'As far as we know, teaching assistants' and classroom assistants' posts are still the most popular because they're the best paid. We're not picking up any changes in the percentage becoming nannies. Sure Start seems to be attracting graduates. It's a relatively new area but one that's growing exponentially each year,' he adds.
To find out what this year's newly qualified childcarers are planning for their career, we talked to some of them and their lecturers.
Chris Lawrence, course manager at Chiltern College in Berkshire, says the sector offers lots of job opportunities.
'More students are using their qualification as an entry to higher education. Nannying is still very popular, but students also have the choice of completing teacher training, working with social services and so on. The private sector is also expanding in this area so more are going into that field.
'But students don't always follow the route they think they will take as so many new opportunities can arise. Many go into daycare and develop the skills they learned in training. They might then decide to become a nanny and follow this up by taking a post abroad as a holiday representative or ski nanny. But it is important to recognise those who really want to go into daycare and it should not be seen just as a stepping stone to other prospects.'
Yuta Tanna, 23, has completed a Diploma in Nursery Nursing (DNN) at Chiltern College and is about to start as a relief family worker for social services.
'I worked at a family centre for my placement and realised it was what I wanted to do. The children in these centres are either victims or witnesses of social or emotional abuse. As well as gaining more experience with children with these needs, I feel that it will be really worthwhile. I want to be a part of providing the best for these children. The family centre supports the children and parents on an individual basis and it's great when you know you have helped them come through a situation. It also helps you to understand why they have gone through what they have.
'I am excited about going into a job that I really want to do, and social services will also provide more training for me. Perhaps after this I will look into teaching or permanent family work. Hopefully, there will be a lot of options open for me once I get some experience. The only thing that frustrates me about my career choice is that nursery nurses are not valued enough. They are the base for the children but they aren't given enough credit, even though we have so much to offer them.'
Victoria Proctor, 18, has also completed a DNN at Chiltern College. She will help out with a summer playscheme, then work in the Chiltern College nursery before starting a degree in paediatric nursing in 2002.
'My mum is a cardiac nurse, my brother is a radiographer and my sister is an A&E nurse, so it's a career path I have been familiar with all my life. Helping out with the playscheme and then working for Chiltern will be good experience as it will introduce me to children from different backgrounds. Then it's back to studying.
'The course will last three years and at the end of it I can specialise in a particular area, for example, cancer or A&E. I've already had some experience teaching children with cancer and although it was difficult in the beginning, I got a good feeling from knowing I was helping them. My love for children is one of the reasons why I have chosen to do this, along with the many fulfilling stories I have been told by my family.
'The only difficult decision I did have to make was deciding what university to go to - places are limited for paediatric nursing. I have also considered working in Australia as I have family out there, but for now I will just concentrate on my training.'
Miyuki Komaki, 29, has just completed her training at Chiltern College and will be returning to Japan.
'I came to England to study childcare because I do not like the way that Japanese childcare is so structured. I am interested in becoming a manager of a creche because I feel that a lot of people have low self-esteem, and as a manager I hope I will be able to encourage children to be more positive. I have read how childhood is a crucial stage of a person's life, so I am hoping to apply what I have learned in England to help Japanese children grow into confident adults.
'Although it is quite difficult to find a job in Japan at the moment, I am hoping that my training in England will help as it is held in a positive light. Following management I am thinking about training childminders, as the Japanese have recently started recognising this profession and it is becoming more regulated. Ultimately, I would like to work in England.'
Aware of more options
Alice Sharp, until recently a lecturer in childcare and education at the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies, says, 'Students are now more aware that they don't have to be nursery nurses when they finish their course and also that the money in childcare is so bad.
'In the past three years about 30 per cent of our students had applied to teacher training college but didn't manage to get in, so they come to the course with Highers and not just the minimum requirements of three standard grades.
'Once they have got their underpinning knowledge in childcare they think, "Hang on, I can do something else with this". It took only one of our students to get on to a midwifery course for others to follow her on to similar courses. This year about three of our students are going on to do BAs in early childhood studies. One is going into nursing, another into occupational therapy and another into midwifery.'
Rosie Best, employment agency manager at the Norland College in Hungerford, Berkshire, which traditionally trains nannies, thinks that more students want to work in nurseries and schools because these offer more of a career progression.
'I think students prefer to work in a group situation with regular working hours. As a nanny you can feel very isolated; the hours can be long and a lot of commitment is involved, especially if you have children of your own. I think more students are also going on to become managers or setting up their own nursery; financially it's more lucrative.'
Natasha Darrington, 21, has completed her Diploma of Higher Education in Early Childhood Studies at Norland College and now plans to do a degree at the University of Surrey, Roehampton.
'In the long term, I would like to teach in a nursery school with special needs children. I find them so fascinating. There are stages of development we take for granted, but to them it is such a big achievement. I feel it would be so fulfilling to see that at first-hand. Of course, I will have to gain some experience with children first, but this is something I have always wanted to do. I want to be a part of helping children develop.
'I am considering working on a cruise ship to gain some experience before I do my PGCE. I have been on cruises myself and have spoken to the nursery nurses about what it's like. From what I have seen and heard cruise ships seem like a really chilled out place to be, they don't follow rigid routines and you get to see different parts of the world.
'I don't know what to expect from my degree course but it's a bit daunting that I will be the only one going straight into the third year. All the other students have known each other from day one. But I just want to get on with it now. All I know is that I will have a lot of options open to me, so the best thing to do is take it as it comes.'
Rebecca Jocelyn, 20, left Norland College with a Diploma of Higher Education in Early Childhood Studies and will be working her probationary period at a nursery in High Wycombe.
'I enjoyed working in the daycare units at college, so this will be an extension of that. I wanted to work alongside other members of staff with a big group of children for my first job. Working with one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half-year-olds will be a real challenge but interesting at the same time, as this is when their personalities start to show. It is such an important time in their lives and I want to be a part of that - I want to help them to cultivate their characters.'