As childcare workers, we owe it to the little ones to be the best possible caretakers we can be. Partaking in professional development puts you on the path to achieving this goal, whilst also adding another string to your professional bow.
Gaining professional development qualifications will boost your workplace confidence and help you climb the career ladder whilst also making sure the children under your care are as safe and happy as possible.
What’s more, when you bring your new cutting-edge knowledge and ideas back to your workplace, your boss will be thrilled.
Ensure You’re Providing the Best Possible Care
The first and foremost reason for investing in professional development as a childcare worker is to improve the level of care you provide to your charges. From being aware of the most up-to-date health and safety regulations to having the training to excel at early years education, professional development will help you to ensure the time spent with the little ones is as productive and engaging as possible, and their parents — and your boss — will thank you for it.
Climb the Career Ladder
If childcare is your vocation, then climbing the career ladder is likely to be high on your priorities list. Professional development ensures you have the right qualifications to take on more responsibility in your chosen areas, whether your ambitions surround managerial or educational roles, or even building up to one day owning your own childcare centre. In an industry that still considers many professional qualifications a “nice to have” rather than essential, walking into a job interview with numerous qualifications to your name will make the employer sit up and take notice.
Keep up to Date With the Latest Regulations
It is incredibly important that childcare centres and childcare workers are up to date with the latest regulations. These may be legislative regulations that every worker must follow by law, or regulatory guidelines that are recommended by industry bodies. Even when you are not legally bound to follow guidelines, ensuring that both you and the centre you work at are compliant is vital for keeping the children safe and happy, and making parents feel comfortable when it comes to leaving their little ones behind with you.
Make Yourself More Attractive to Employers
Maybe you see yourself working for your current employer forever and climbing the internal career ladder, or perhaps you’ve set your sights elsewhere. Either way, having professional qualifications will make you stand out from the crowd and ensure you are a highly desirable candidate, either for your current employer to retain, or for an external employer to bring on board.
Improve Your Childcare Centre with New Ideas
Childcare never stands still. Researchers are constantly conducting new studies into childhood behaviour and development that tell us new and exciting things about the best ways to look after young children. Meanwhile, rapid advances in technology mean everything – from business tools to teaching equipment to toys – is constantly evolving. Partake in professional development courses, and you’ll come back to work with an up-to-date understanding of the latest industry developments, and fresh ideas to table as you apply your cutting-edge knowledge.
Boost Your Professional Confidence
Taking professional development courses and gaining qualifications in your chosen field is bound to build your confidence in the workplace. Whether you’re in a team meeting or a job interview, speaking to parents, or dealing with an unruly group of children, professional development will give you the tools to handle each and every workplace situation, thereby boosting your professional confidence.
In addition to continually investing in professional development, it’s important to implement tools to help you excel at your job. Reach out to us at Kidsoft to see how we can help — we’re always happy to chat!
