Scott Anderson, trainee ELC Practitioner

I’ve been working in early learning and childcare for the last 12 months, and I can honestly say they’ve been the happiest and most fulfilling months of my entire working life.

For many years, I worked in the construction industry as an engineer and site manager. My journey into the ELC sector began with the birth of my son. Following a serious bout of bronchitis, which saw him hospitalised, I became even more active in his care and weekly routine. I took a break from work, which allowed me time to care for him and it was during one of our visits to our weekly toddler group that the seed was planted. I had been playing games with a wee boy during the session and afterwards his granny came over to thank me, she’d never seen him enjoying time with a positive male role model so much. I began to wonder if this was something I could do as a career, if I could make a difference to children’s lives by simply interacting with them and patiently responding to their needs.

I began to volunteer at my son’s nursery and was delighted to begin training and developing skills in the practice. My time at the nursery lead to a full-time job at the setting, which I sadly had to leave when I relocated to Inverness with my family.

I began the search for new opportunities in ELC in the area and I started work at an out of school club. Once again, I was doing something I truly loved, I was making a difference in children’s and families’ lives and it was also making me a better parent. The training and online courses I was studying were empowering me to make my own son’s experiences in development even richer and I could make informed choices and decisions regarding his wellbeing based on what I was learning.

I joined CALA’s Staff Bank as a support worker in the summer of 2017 and I’ve really enjoyed working in a variety of settings. The training and online courses CALA provide are brilliant and I was learning a lot. I had enjoyed many years of seeing building projects completed and would feel a sense of achievement when driving past completed projects. However, I had now found a career that gave me that sense of satisfaction on a daily basis. For the rest of my life I will remember the sheer joy on children’s faces as they reach new milestones or experience new things with wonder and amazement, especially those who were battling though challenges and barriers in their lives.