YOUTH WORK CAREER & TRAINING PATHWAY

Youth Work is a fantastic career. You will find Youth Workers supporting young people in a variety of settings and services. The one thing that unites them is the belief and use of the underlying principles and practices of Youth Work.

Starting Out

Lots of people (including young people) start their Youth Work career as a volunteer, or a part time assistant, and as they gain more experience and training - they progress.

JNC

Youth work is a distinct profession, it's qualifications are endorsed by the 'Joint Negotiation Comitee' JNC - made up of employers and unions. Responsibility for validating courses and ensuring quality is delegated via the National Youth Agency to the Youth Work English Education Standards Committee (ETS), and independent body made up of representatives of the sector. 

If a qualification doesn't say it's JNC, it's not youth work and consequently won't be recognised as such on job applications. 

Level 2 is for individuals who assist in youth projects - similar to a School Playground Assistant. Training content builds on knowledge and understanding from the Level 2 Award as individuals progress.

Training

Youth Work Qualifications and training are often linked to levels of responsibilities outlined in youth work job descriptions and pay.

Level 3 is for individuals who manage small scale provisions, teams or have specialist responsibilities - similar to a Teaching Assistant.

Apprenticeships

the Level 3  Apprenticeship is the equivalent of the Level 3 Diploma

Progression

If a person successfully completes their Level 3 Qualification they are eligible to apply for entry onto a degree programme and will have 'youth work' in the title.

Level 6 and above is for individuals who manage large scale or multiple provisions, teams or have specialist responsibilities - equivalent to a Teaching or Social Work Degree

Apprenticeship Degree

the Level 6 Apprenticeship in Youth Work is a BA Honours

Once qualified there are lots of opportunities to continue your leaning and career progression.

For more information, contact office@youthfocusne.org.uk

The University of Sunderland

L6 – Traditional BA BA (Hons) Community and Youth Work | The University of Sunderland

L6 – Integrated Degree Apprenticeship BA (Hons) Community and Youth Work (Integrated Degree Apprenticeship) | The University of Sunderland

L6 – Traditional BA with an integrated foundation year BA (Hons) Community and Youth Work Studies with Integrated Foundation Year | The University of Sunderland

L7 – MA with a qualifying JNC Youth Work route MA Childhood and Youth Studies | The University of Sunderland

Access Unlimited

Access Unlimited is led by the Royal Society of Blind Children (RSBC) and the partners in the consortium include, Youth Focus North East, The Albion Foundation, Henshaws, Kent Association for the Blind and Young Bristol. This delivery is part of Engage Training and Consultancy and our role within the consortium is to facilitate links across the Network of Regional Youth Work Units to deliver capacity building training to support the overall project activity. The aim of the training is to equip those working with young people to be more confident and able to support young people who have a vision impairment and in turn, make their offer more inclusive.

To achieve the accreditation, learners need to demonstrate their learning from the training programme and their work will be assessed, IQA and EQA by the Skills and Education Group. Book now, on an online (Zoom) accredited course for workers and volunteers to increase your knowledge and confidence in how to support young people who are visually impaired.

The training will cover –

  • Different eye conditions
  • Point of view from a young person who is individually impaired
  • How to include and support a young person who is visually impaired
  • Different sport and activities that can be offered
  • Myth busting

This course is a one off session and will be running once a month as of February 2024. Please be aware there is a £15 refundable deposit to be paid on booking. Refunds only available if you attend the course.

Any questions contact training@youthfocusne.org.uk

Regional Impact Hub

As part of the North East Youth Alliance, we are relaunching the Regional Impact Hub. The aim of the Regional Impact Hub is the being practitioners and managers together from the youth sector to share how others across the sector measure impact, and how we can collectively showcase the impact of our work to key stakeholders.

27st February 2024
10:00 – 11:00AM
Online : Click link to book on Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/regional-impact-hub-tickets-594722209137

To book a place or if you have any further questions, please go to Eventbrite and search “North East Youth Alliance” to see our events.

#YouthStartsHere

At the launch of the campaign at the NEYA conference, we highlighted our main objectives, which are:

  • To grow understanding of the sector
  • To increase recruitment & investment
  • To encourage new allies to help us grow the movement

Throughout the campaign we will be measuring success via recruitment, media exposure, advocacy and social numbers.

There are some simple ways you can support the campaign.

  1.  Add the #YOTUHSTARTSHERE logo to our email signature (download below)
  2.  Use the hashtag on relevant social posts #YOUTHSTARTSHERE 
  3.  Share NEYA posts far and wide
  4.  Help us with YOUR networks – who do you know that can help shine the light on the youth sector? Councillors/MPs, sports people, local celebrities, businesses, lead decision makers (LA’s, councils, community, etc), influences. Email us!
  5.  Capture content – tell us how you are supporting communities ; whether that’s a case study from a young person talking about their youth worker, or an event. Capture it on video/photos and send it to us!
  6.  Help us build the #YOUTHSTARTSHERE brand by posting the logo on your social each month to show your support.
  7.  Join in – we will be planning events, protests, and petitions over the coming year – please sign up and help us turn the volume up about youth work!

If you have any stories, case studies, or ideas you would like to share; please email: dee@neyouth.org.uk

Thank you for your support

Click here to download