The first two qualified early years and nursery sector staff from Kenya have started working in Jersey and Guernsey, helping to fill a critical shortage of trained Level 3 Early Years Educators.
Following a business case put forward last year by the Jersey Early Years Association (JEYA), which was supported by specialist recruitment agency GR8, the Work Permit Policy in Jersey was changed to allow suitably skilled early years practitioners to be employed from overseas.
GR8 has worked with the Children, Young People, Education and Skills Department to ensure their skills and experience meet the requirements for working in the sector here. A further seven skilled early years practitioners are waiting for their visas and are due to start work in Jersey and Guernsey before April, with GR8 having a bank of suitably qualified staff ready to be offered roles to meet the demand of the industry across all the islands.
Lee Madden (pictured), Managing Director of GR8, said: “The sector has been facing difficulties recruiting and retaining the right staff for some time and we worked with businesses, educators and governments to create a solution that meets all the obligations whilst also providing year-round childcare. Through our partnerships in Kenya, we have access to hundreds of fully qualified and experienced early years practitioners who are ready to start, and we have set up a programme that makes sure that they are prepared for the cultural differences that they may face when coming to work here.”
GR8 worked with nurseries in the private sector for changes that would make it possible to recruit from countries that are not in the Common Travel Area. The staff hold equivalent qualifications to those from Highlands College and all have the required experience and training to comply with the stringent recruitment process that the islands follow.
Lee added: “Due to the cost-of-living crisis, more families have both parents working while children are young and that’s increasing the pressure on private sector and not-for-profit nurseries. This is also an issue in the UK and the Isle of Man, and we are confident that by working with our contacts in the Kenyan Government, this solution can be adapted to meet their requirements too.”
