This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Pre-School and Childcare Workforce Statistics 2004
08/02/2005
Statistics on staff working in pre-school education and
daycare centres in Scotland in September 2004 are published
today.
The main points are:
- There were 28,150 posts in pre-school and childcare
centres in Scotland in January 2004. This represents
just over one per cent of all jobs in Scotland. The
number of staff has increased by over 1,400 since
January 2003
- There were 6,580 staff recruited (23 per cent of
total staff numbers) by employers and 5,430 staff left
in the year to September 2004. A significant part of
this was movement between childcare providers
- In September 2004, there were 1,240 vacancies
within the pre-school and childcare sector. This is 4.4
per cent of all posts, slightly higher than the economy
as a whole (3 per cent), but lower than health and
social care employers (5 per cent)
- There was a large increase in the proportion of
pre-school and childcare staff with qualifications:
from 67 per cent in 2003 to 74 per cent in 2004.
However, there remain 4,200 staff who do not possess
childcare qualifications and are not in training to
obtain them
- Average pay in the pre-school and childcare sector
was £7.80 per hour. This compares to an average hourly
wage of £11.00 per hour for all employees in Scotland
and £9.90 for all female employees
STAFF NUMBERS
There were 28,150 posts in pre-school and childcare
centres in Scotland in January 2004. This represents just
over one per cent of all jobs in Scotland. The number of
staff has increased by over 1,400 since January 2003.
The vast majority (89 per cent) of staff were on
permanent contracts. There were 590 temporary staff
covering vacancies - 200 fewer than in 2003. More than half
of all temporary staff have been working with the same
employer for a year or more.
Just over half of staff are working full time, a large
increase in the number since 2003, when only 40 per cent of
staff were working on a full-time basis. There are still a
higher proportion of part time staff in the pre-school and
childcare sector compared to the population as a whole: 75
per cent of workers in Scotland being full-time (and 60 per
cent of women working full time).
STAFF TURNOVER AND EXPERIENCE
There were 6,580 staff recruited (23 per cent of total
staff numbers) by employers, and 5,430 staff left in the
year to September 2004. There was an additional level of
churn not recorded in this survey - staff leaving centres
that have closed.
In the economy as a whole, around 25 per cent of workers
move jobs in any one year, though this varies with the
economic cycle1. Staff with lower pay, staff working with
smaller employers, and staff working in sectors of the
economy that are expanding tend to have a higher level of
turnover than other staff1,4. The level of turnover in the
pre-school/childcare sector is comparable with the average.
The pre-school/childcare sector is expanding, pay is below
the average as is the size of the average employer. We
might, therefore, have expected staff turnover to be higher
than it is.
There were higher levels of turnover in privately run
centres, compared with local authority centres; and amongst
staff with no management responsibility, against staff
managers.
There was significant movement of people between
childcare jobs - a third of people joining a new employer
came from another childcare post. There was some movement
between the private, voluntary and public sectors - most
people remaining in the sector they previously worked in.
Between 350 and 450 staff joined local authority centres
from private or voluntary childcare employers, whereas
between 100 and 200 staff joined private or voluntary
childcare employers from local authority centres.
The majority of people had worked in childcare for more
than five years, though one in 10 had joined the profession
in the last year. Of these new entrants, 60 per cent were
under 25, and just three per cent were aged over 50.
There is a stronger link between experience and pay than
between the level of qualifications and pay. Those with
more experience in childcare are more likely to have a
permanent contract and/or work as a manager, than being
either on a temporary contract or a non-management
role.
Staff working in local authority centres are much more
likely to have been working for 10 or more years in
childcare. This accounts for 56 per cent of staff in local
authority centres, compared to 21 per cent in private
centres, and 27 per cent in voluntary centres.
The main motivation for staff joining their current
employer was to work with children (93 per cent rated this
as an important motivation). Conditions of employment (such
as hours worked and job location) were also important,
particularly so amongst part time staff.
VACANCIES
In September 2004, there were 1,240 vacancies within the
pre-school and childcare sector. This is 4.4 per cent of
all posts, slightly higher than the economy as a whole (3
per cent), but lower than health and social care employers
(5 per cent)1. However, this rate may be inflated by the
number of new childcare providers - nationally, new
employers have a vacancy rate of 13 per cent.
There has been a slight increase in the vacancy rate
since 2003, from 4.2 per cent to 4.4 per cent. A factor
driving this rise, is the increase in vacancies in
privately run centres, from 3.6 per cent in 2003 to 5.8 per
cent in 2004. Privately run centres now have a higher level
of vacancies (5.8 per cent of posts), compared to local
authority (5.1 per cent) and voluntary run (2.0 per cent)
centres.
The vast majority (1,060) of vacancies were in
non-management posts working with children - the level of
vacancies was 5.4 per cent for those in non-management
posts, compared to 2.4 per cent for management. Half of all
vacancies were covered by temporary staff.
Around 540 vacancies had existed for three months or
more - 1.9 per cent of all posts. This is again slightly
higher than the overall rate for Scotland (1.5 per cent)1.
The main reason cited for hard to fill vacancies was a lack
of applicants (including a lack of qualifications or
experience).
Vacancy rates were higher in rural areas (9.8 per cent
of posts) than in urban (3.9 per cent) or small towns (1.8
per cent), with a similar difference in the level of
persistent vacancies.
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF CHILDCARE
WORKFORCE
Virtually all workers providing childcare and pre-school
education are women - only two per cent of staff are male.
This compares to women making up almost half of all
workers3 and 80 per cent of the overall social care
workforce in Scotland5.
The childcare workforce is younger than for other
industries in Scotland - one in four of Scotland's
workforce are aged 50 and above3, compared to just one in
six childcare workers.
The ethnic mix of the workforce is similar to other
industries in Scotland and the population as a whole, with
two per cent of workers from minority ethnic groups.
Almost one in 10 workers in the childcare sector has a
disability or health problem that had lasted for more than
a year, compared to one in five workers in Scotland as a
whole. Consequently, the proportion of the childcare
workforce where a disability affects the kind or amount of
work people are able to do is very low compared to other
parts of the economy. One explanation is the that there are
a higher proportion of younger workers in the childcare
sector compared to the economy as a whole: figures from
table 6 shows that older workers tend to be more likely to
be affected by disability.
QUALIFICATIONS
There was a large increase in the proportion of
pre-school and childcare staff with qualifications: from 67
per cent in 2003 to 74 per cent in 2004. The biggest
increase was amongst local authority employed staff (up 9
per cent since 2003).
Of the 7,200 staff without formal qualifications, more
than 40 per cent are currently undertaking them. In
addition, there are 3,600 staff with qualifications at
SVQ1, SVQ2 or equivalent, of whom half are working towards
a qualification at level SVQ3 or equivalent.
However this indicates that 4,200 childcare workers (15
per cent) do not have formal qualifications, and are not
currently in training to get any.
Amount of time spent working in childcare is the most
significant factor behind the level of childcare
qualifications people hold: of those with less than two
years experience, around a quarter hold an SVQ3 or above in
childcare related subject. This compares to over 80 per
cent of those with 10 years experience or more. Also
significant is that part-time staff are much less likely to
have qualifications than full-time workers. There are 14
per cent of full-time staff and 37 per cent of part-time
staff with no qualifications.
Of staff working in local authority run centres, 81 per
cent have qualifications at SVQ3 or above - much higher
than the proportion in privately run centres (53 per cent)
and voluntary run centres (38 per cent). In addition, a
higher proportion of staff in centres offering pre-school
education have formal qualifications and these tend to be
at a higher level, compared to staff in other childcare
centres.
PAY
Average pay in the pre-school and childcare sector was
£7.80 per hour. This compares to an average hourly wage of
£11.00 per hour for all employees in Scotland, and £9.90
for all female employees2.
Average pay increases with age and level of experience:
32 per cent of those with more than 10 years experience in
childcare earn more than £10 per hour, compared to just
four per cent of those with less than two years
experience.
As in other professions, full time workers earn more
than those employed part-time, and managers earn more than
non-managers.
The average pay of all workers (including both managers
and non-managers) in local authority run centres is £10.60
per hour compared to £6.00/hour in the private sector and
£6.20/hour in the voluntary sector. More than a quarter of
all workers in the private sector are paid less than £5 per
hour, compared to seven per cent in local authority run
centres.