Youth workers help young people to fulfil their potential in society. They provide enjoyable, educational and challenging activities to help young people improve their confidence, develop new skills and cope with issues that affect their lives. They mainly work with people aged 13 to 19 (in some cases 11 to 25).

The job of a youth worker can vary a lot depending on the needs of the young people they work with, but their duties may include:

• organising sports, arts, drama, and other activities
• mentoring and supporting young people
• offering counselling
• working with specific groups, such as young carers or those at risk of offending
• developing and running projects that tackle issues like health, bullying, crime, or substance misuse
• managing volunteers and part-time workers
• keeping records and controlling budgets
• bidding for grants and funding
• networking with other professionals including social workers, teachers, probation officers and the police.

Detached youth workers make contact with young people in places like parks, shopping centres and anywhere else they meet, to do outreach work and encourage them to use local services.

In Scotland, community educators (also known as community learning and development workers) carry out youth work as well as community development work and adult education.

Hours and Environment

As a full-time youth worker you will usually work 35 to 37 hours a week. Most jobs involve evening and weekend work. Part-time work is common.

You could be based in a local youth club, community centre, faith centre (such as a church or mosque), school or Connexions centre. In rural areas you may work from a mobile centre such as a converted bus. As a detached youth worker you could work anywhere indoors or outdoors where young people meet, from street corners to cafes or amusement arcades.

Skills and Interests

To be a youth worker, you need:

• the ability to build good relationships and earn trust and respect
• excellent communication and listening skills
• the ability to relate to people from all backgrounds
• tact and sensitivity
• patience and resilience
• a non-judgemental attitude
• initiative, enthusiasm and motivation
• good organisational skills
• commitment to equal opportunities
• interests or skills in areas that may interest young people, such as sports or the arts.

Entry

England, Wales and Northern Ireland
To be a full-time professional youth worker you will need a youth and community work qualification validated by the National Youth Agency (NYA) or the Youth Council for Northern Ireland. Validated qualifications can be:

• foundation degrees
• diplomas of higher education (Dip HE)
• degrees
• postgraduate diplomas.

You can study full- or part-time, by distance learning or work-based training.

Course entry requirements can vary, so you should check with universities and colleges. You may be accepted without traditional academic qualifications if you have relevant work experience and the potential to succeed on the course.

It is important to have paid or voluntary experience of working with young people and community groups. You will often need at least one or two years’ experience when applying for professional training and jobs. Contact your local youth service or volunteer agencies to arrange voluntary or part-time sessional work.

You could also start as a youth support worker (usually a part-time assistant or volunteer) without any qualifications. You can take work-based qualifications in youth support work, and go on to complete professional training part-time, or by distance-learning.

See the NYA website for a list of validated professional youth work courses and information on youth support worker qualifications.

Scotland
To qualify as a community educator in Scotland, you must take a course that has been approved by the Community Education Validation and Endorsement Unit (CeVe) of Communities Scotland.

See the Communities Scotland website for a list of approved HNCs, degrees, and postgraduate qualifications.

Anyone working with young people must also undergo a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, although having a criminal record does not automatically prevent you from youth work. See www.disclosure.gov.uk or www.disclosurescotland.co.uk for information.

Training

As a youth support worker, you will get basic training from your employer when you start (usually a mixture of classroom-based and on the job training). You may also be encouraged to work toward a work-based qualification such as:

• NVQ Levels 2 and 3 in Youth Work
• ABC Level 2 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma in Youth Work
• City and Guilds Level 2 and 3 Certificates in Youth Work
• City and Guilds Level 2 and 3 Certificates in Supporting Youth Work.

You could then progress to taking a professional youth work qualification part-time.

As a qualified youth worker, you will develop your skills on the job. Your employer will usually also offer regular in-service short courses on particular aspects of youth work. With experience, you could choose to take a postgraduate MA course in a related area like community development or counselling.

Staff at all levels must take child protection training.

Opportunities

As a youth worker you could work for:

• local authority youth services
• the Connexions Service
• youth offending teams
• faith groups, community groups and voluntary organisations
• government-funded projects.

Jobs are advertised in the local and national press (particularly The Guardian on Wednesdays), specialist recruitment agencies, local authority jobs bulletins and websites and the LGJobs website.

With experience you could progress to senior and managerial jobs, or into specialist posts, for example with young offenders.

In England, you could also take further training to become a personal adviser for the Connexions Service (see the Personal Adviser (Connexions) profile for more information).

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Youth support workers usually earn £13,000 to £16,000 a year (or the equivalent part-time rate).
Qualified youth and community workers usually earn £18,000 to £24,000 a year.
Senior youth workers and managers can earn £27,000 to £30,000 a year or more.

Further information

Forestview
Purdy's Lane
Belfast
BT8 7AR
Tel: 028 9064 3882 CeVe Unit
Thistle House
91 Haymarket Terrace
Edinburgh
EH12 5HE
Tel: 0131 313 0044 Eastgate House
19-23 Humberstone Road
Leicester
LE5 3GJ 5th Floor
St Andrew’s House
18-20 St Andrew Street
London
EC4A 3AY
Information and Advice Service: 020 7936 5798
Email: advice@lluk.org