Men in Childcare Make it Happen !

A letter of thanks and how it happened for James Callaghan from Glasgow

Dear Colin and Kenny

Sorry I have not been in touch until now, it has been a rather hectic year. As you will be aware I have been studying for my HNC in Childcare and Education at Kilmarnock College.

Thanks to Men In Childcare, I have for the past few years been involved in training for a career in childcare. I started the introductory course in September 2004 at Royston Road and from there continued at John Wheatley College, where I completed modules on Childcare and Education on Saturday mornings. While completing these modules I decided to apply to local nurseries for a full time position as a childcare worker. The response I received was fantastic and everyone spoke very positively of having a male figure in their establishment. I accepted a position in a local nursery and have been working there full time for the past 16 months. I have used the position as my work placement while studying 2 evenings per week at Kilmarnock College for my HNC.

I have worked in many different jobs over the past 15 years or so, from admin positions, to furniture installation and engineering jobs. Although these previous positions were more financially rewarding they did not hold any career path for me. I have now completed my HNC and I am a fully qualified Child Development Officer. I will graduate in November this year and for the first time in my life I can now say I have "a career". I intend to take my learning/career forward and continually progress in this field. The job satisfaction I recieve through being part of the children's learning is indescribable, and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested.

If it was not for Men in Childcare I may never have took the initiatve to begin studying for this career. All training was fully funded, the classes were all flexible to suit individual needs and it made me feel more relaxed initially to be part of a group of men in the same situation as myself.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my studies and know that, now that I am fully qualified, I will not look back.

I would just like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude, not only for the funding that helped to make this possible, but for your continued support throughout.

Thanks again,

James Callaghan - Glasgow

Kenny Spence (Project Manager)

Read about the success of the European Conference 2003 l 2004 l 2005

Contact: kenny@meninchildcare.com or Telephone 0131 664 1202