LONDON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Half of the staff members at private nurseries in Britain where about 1 million parents have enrolled children reportedly lacks proper training for their jobs.

A Times of London report also noted only 1-in-10 among the staff is a graduate. This comes at a time when more parents are forced to enroll their children at these facilities because of rising shift work.

The problem is the dismal pay rates at these nurseries, which must compete with supermarkets and call centers for employees. The report says one-third of the nursery employees leave the profession every year.

"Childcare is very challenging. Children need highly skilled, highly qualified staff. Yet from a business perspective, the industry is labor intensive so staff costs are high despite low pay," said one industry expert.

The trade group representing the private sector nurseries says 90 percent of the facilities had received a "good" or "satisfactory" rating and that 2 percent were unsatisfactory.