Be in Demand: Study
Education & Early Years
This is Education & Early Years.
Education and Early Years is about helping children learn, grow, and thrive from birth through to school age. Careers in this sector focus on child development, learning support, creativity, safeguarding, and building strong foundations for future education. There are currently around 300,000 people working in early years education and childcare roles across the UK.
Growing Demand.
The expansion of funded childcare, such as the UK’s rollout of 30 hours of free care, creates a need for thousands of new, qualified early years workers to handle the higher demand. The Department for Education estimates around 36,000 new staff are needed to deliver expanded funded childcare places.
Education & Early Years in Hertfordshire.
Hertfordshire is an excellent place to work in Education & Early Years. There are many job opportunities, a wide range of settings, and strong employer demand across the county. There are opportunities across:
- Nurseries and preschools
- Primary schools (EYFS)
- Specialist Early Years centres (e.g., autism‑focused settings)
- PVI (private, voluntary, independent) childcare providers
- Family centres
- Day nurseries
15,000 - 20,000 (approx).
People currently work in the sector across Hertfordshire
700 +
Education settings across Hertfordshire
51
Different roles across the sector
Where can Education & Early Years take me?
Here are just some of the careers on offer in the education and early years sector:
