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The apprenticeship scheme that trains thousands of staff for Busy Bees, the UK’s largest nursery group, has been selected as a finalist for a prestigious industry award.
Busy Bees Education and Training is shortlisted for the Apprenticeship Scheme of the Year in the Nursery Management Today Awards, which recognises the highest quality professional education programmes.
Busy Bees, which employs around 10,000 people in the UK, currently trains more than 500 apprentices for its nurseries every year.
Anthony Bromirski, chief executive officer for Busy Bees Education and Training, said: “We are thrilled that our apprenticeship scheme has been recognised for this industry honour, which acknowledges the dedication of all our outstanding trainers, tutors and mentors.
“The early years sector has been suffering from a shortage of qualified professionals, and apprenticeships play a vital role in maintaining the high-quality care and education that parents rightly demand.
“We are currently supporting more than 1,400 apprentices training in the early years sector and aim to increase that total to over 2,000 by the end of this year, ensuring Busy Bees can continue to provide a quality experience for all our children.”
Based at Busy Bees’ National Support Centre in Burntwood, Staffordshire, a 120-strong team of education and training experts provide apprenticeships, continuing professional development and vocational courses for childcare and other industries.
As well as delivering qualifications for its own staff, the company offers a range of apprenticeships and training courses for external customers across the UK, including First Aid, health and safety, business administration, leadership and management.
Chris McCandless, European Chief Executive Officer for Busy Bees, said: “Our ambition is to give every child the best start in life, and that requires highly qualified, skilled and committed staff.
“We are proud of the educators in our nurseries, who create exciting and inspiring learning opportunities, and the in-house professional chefs that nourish our children with freshly-cooked NHS accredited meals.
“Our commitment to excellence is supported every day by the Busy Bees Education and Training team, so I am delighted that their contribution to developing childcare professionals is being acknowledged by Nursery Management Today.”
Founded in Staffordshire in 1983, Busy Bees has grown into a worldwide success story with the company now caring for almost 100,000 children every day across 10 countries – the UK, Ireland, Italy, Canada, USA, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand.
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Busy Bees released a short film looking back at its heritage and reaffirming its commitment to delivering high quality childcare and early years education.
Busy Bees has become certified as a Most Loved Workplace®, recognising the leading nursery group’s commitment to supporting its team in the UK