Are qualifications necessary?

[MissSofie]

I'm not from England, but want to move there and work as a live-out nanny. I've worked as a nanny for years, so I do have experience in the field.

Is it necessary for me to have a qualification in order to find work? I've considered taking an online course, but I think I might find it too difficult, since English is not my first language. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

• Sofie

Qualifications aren't necessary but they are increasingly helpful. Online courses, however, are rarely worth the paper they're written on. You are much better doing something either in your home country which will probably be recognised or waiting until you get to the UK where you can do something like the OCN common core skills, and that will then enable you to register with OFSTED (as long as you have an appropriate First Aid certificate and insurance and can provide evidence of a police check from your own country when applying for a CRB).

You are more likely to be held back of your English isn't good, unless you speak a language which is very much in demand like French.

I would say you can get away with one or the other but both would be a sticking point. You will probably find that you need to do quite a lot of explaining, although you already have experience which is good, to reassure parents who tend to be wary of what they don't know.

Good luck!

Qualifications aren't necessary for jobs however you must have a qualification in order to become Ofsted Registered.
Qualifications and Ofsted Registration can be seen as perks by parents but not necessarily.
Have a look through some job ads and see what people are looking for in the area you want to work.

Are you able to move and work in the UK? Depending on your nationality you may find that you are not permitted to work in the UK. So do check with UK Border Agency with regard to that before you start making any plans to work in the UK. If you are a European National then details are here, if you are not from Europe, then Youth Mobility Scheme applies to nationals of some countries, but not very many countries.

Lots of people in the UK are looking for work, so you need to have skills which people want. So ability to speak and write more than one language, ability to drive a car (and able to get a UK driving licence after being in the country a short while), being musical, being sporty, all sorts of things parents may be wanting from their nanny - so look at your strengths, what you are good at, are any of those things possibly useful to parents of young children.

Consider location... many people want to live in London. Mad if you ask me, there are plenty of other places to live where the competition to find work may not be as great. So look at jobs UK wide.