Nursery school owners in Norwich are being urged to help aspiring childcare workers to gain vital experience.

National training firm JHP Training has been lobbying nurseries around the city and telling them how they can take on young apprentices.

The Rockinghorse Day Nursery on Great Melton Road in Hethersett is one of around 60 nurseries where JHP Training dropped balloons and information about their apprenticeship scheme on Wednesday.

The company is setting up a government-funded Childcare Apprentice Training Academy in Norwich in March, which will give the apprentices four weeks intensive training before they start at the nursery. They already have 50 young adults who want to get involved.

Training will include paediatric first aid and literacy and numeracy skills.

The firm's regional manager, Allison Miller, said the academy was designed to ensure the apprentices were ready for the job.

'We have over 50 young people who are champing at the bit to get onto a placement.'

She said the scheme was particularly important at the moment when young people were finding it so hard to get work.

'We want to give them a chance to start work.

'What we are looking for is some nurseries in Norwich to host these young people.' She said that JHP Group will help to fund the apprentice's wages or they will go as a normal apprentice into the workplace. She said that they can then continue with their qualifications and do six months to a year of practical qualifications.

Marilyn Mills, owner of The Rockinghorse Day Nursery in Hethersett said: 'I've been involved in training young workers in the childcare sector for over 20 years now and I am a great believer in giving young people an oppurtunity to learn and train in the workplace.

'The children in our care love having younger adults to play with and to talk to and the young trainees offer a wealth of enthusiam and encouragment to our young nursery children.'

For more information contact either allison.miller@jhptraining.com or gemma.tait@jhptraining.com.

Do you have a story for the Evening News? Contact Annabelle Dickson on 01603 772426 or e-mail annabelle.dickson@archant.co.uk.