No matter what your age, from early 20s, through to your 40s and beyond, when you apply for an apprenticeship in early years childcare, you’ll need a tailored CV that highlights and clearly demonstrates your passion for working with children, any directly relevant experience you might have, and clearly sharing the transferable skills you have gained from other roles, including volunteer work.

Whether you’re a young adult or transitioning into a new career later in life, creating a compelling CV is essential to securing an apprenticeship. We’ve shared how to put your CV together below, broken down into easy-to-follow blocks. 

Your CV should be no more than two pages long. Use clear, easy-to-understand language, and keep things focused on what is most relevant to your application.

Design should be clear, uncluttered, and you don’t need to include a photograph on your CV (it’s standard practice in some countries, but not the UK).

Before we start, your CV should always be formatted in the first person; “I have experience in”, not third person, “Chris Smith has experience in”.

1. Personal Information

• What to Include:
  • Your full name
  • Contact information (phone number and email address)
  • Location (city/town – you don’t need a street address)

• Why It’s Important:
  • Employers need to quickly contact you for interviews. Ensure your contact details are professional and up-to-date – no “hotstuff1999@gmail.com” emails!
  • Including your location helps recruiters and potential employers understand what your travel time looks like for you to get to your apprenticeship training location. 

2. Personal Profile

• What to Include:
  • A brief paragraph (3-5 sentences) sharing your career goals, passion for childcare, and why you’re applying for this apprenticeship.

• Why It’s Important:
  • This is your opportunity to introduce yourself and make an immediate connection. Tailor this section specifically to early years childcare, demonstrating your understanding of the sector and think about if you could only share this paragraph with a potential employer, what you would want to say to them.
  • Focus on qualities that align with childcare, such as patience, empathy, and communication skills.

3. Key Skills

• What to Include:
  • List skills relevant to childcare, both soft and hard skills.
  • Example skills:
    • Communication
    • Patience and empathy
    • Teamwork
    • Problem-solving
    • Knowledge of child development stages
    • First aid training (if applicable)

Why It’s Important:

• • The apprenticeship will involve direct interaction with children, parents, and other childcare staff. Showcasing relevant skills demonstrates that you’re ready for the hands-on nature of the role.
  • Tailor the list to what the apprenticeship is likely to require. Top tip – thoroughly review the prospectus of the apprenticeship to make sure you’re including all the relevant information you’ll need to support your application. 

4. Work Experience

• What to Include:
  • Any relevant work experience, especially roles involving childcare, education, or related areas such as healthcare or social work.
  • Even unrelated jobs can be useful—focus on transferable skills such as communication, customer service, or teamwork.
  • Include:
    • Job title
    • Employer’s name
    • Dates of employment
    • Key responsibilities and achievements in the role – Top Tip – don’t get stuck in a “responsibilities rut”, make sure you share your wins from each role. 

• Why It’s Important:
  • Employers want to see evidence that you have experience working with children or transferable skills that can be applied to the role.
  • Highlighting any volunteer work or caring for children, even within the family, can be beneficial if you have no formal experience.

5. Education and Qualifications

• What to Include:
  • List your most relevant qualifications, starting with the most recent.
  • Include the qualification, institution, and year of completion.
  • If you’ve completed any early years or childcare-related training, highlight it here.
  • If you’ve not yet completed formal qualifications in childcare, list any certifications (like First Aid) or courses relevant to the apprenticeship.

• Why It’s Important:
  • Many apprenticeships have minimum educational requirements, and this section helps employers verify that you meet those standards, and what additional support you might need from the apprenticeship if there are currently some gaps.
  • Early years childcare apprenticeships often require foundational qualifications, like GCSEs in English and Maths, or equivalent, so make sure to include these. 

6. Volunteering or Other Relevant Activities

• What to Include:
  • Include any volunteering or community-based work that demonstrates your commitment to working with children, or transferable skills. 
  • Babysitting or involvement in children’s clubs or groups (e.g., Scouts, sports teams) can also be mentioned.

• Why It’s Important:
  • For those without formal work experience, this section allows you to demonstrate your interest and dedication to childcare.
  • Volunteering shows initiative and commitment, traits that employers value in an apprentice.

When you finish your CV, ask someone else to proofread it to check for spelling and grammar errors – we hardly ever catch our own mistakes, so don’t worry if there are a few edits required!

If you follow the steps above, you’ll have a strong CV to support your apprenticeship application – good luck!