Salary

Salaries vary depending on experience, level of qualification and the nature of the employer organisation. Youth support workers and inexperienced youth workers typically start on between £13,000 and £16,000 pro rota. With professional qualifications and experience salaries may rise to £25,000, although wages vary between organisations. Youth workers who take on a managerial, senior or specialist role can expect to earn between £27,000 and £32,000 a year.

Responsibilities

The day-to-day tasks of a youth worker are dependent on the young people and the nature of the employer organisation, but typical tasks include:

• Organising recreational activities to engage young people which could involve art, craft, drama, sport and music
• Befriending and helping individual young people
• Mentoring and nurturing young people through challenging situations in their lives
• Managing and administering youth resources
• Providing counselling for young people
• Preparing and delivering activities that tackle particular issues such as bullying, crime or drugs
• Taking young people on residential trips away
• Undertaking individual sessional work with young people
• Identifying sources of funding and writing funding applications to raise financial support for particular youth projects
• Meeting with police, social workers and other professionals working within the community
• Drawing up business plans
• Writing reports
• Undertaking administrative tasks
• Responding to enquiries by email or telephone
• Recruiting, training and managing volunteers and support workers
• Managing financial records and planning budgets
• Delivering activity geared towards specific young people who have particular disadvantages or vulnerabilities
• Referring young people to organisations such as the Connexions service for young people

Qualifications

To gain work as a professional youth worker it is necessary to have a qualification recognised by the National Youth Agency (NYA) or the Youth Council for Northern Ireland. Qualifications currently recognised include a variety of foundation degrees, diplomas, honours degrees, post-graduate degrees and diplomas.

However, it is important to note that from 2010 requirements for youth workers will change and all qualifications will have to be at degree level or higher.

It is possible to study for a relevant qualification through a variety of means including full or part-time study, work-based training and distance learning. Many youth workers begin as a youth support worker which doesn’t require any formal qualifications and then go on to complete a work-based qualification once they have gained skills and experience. If working with young people of a specific ethnicity a qualification in a second language may also be an advantage.

Skills

Being a youth worker comes with huge demands and responsibilities and requires particular skills and knowledge. These include:

• The ability to be empathetic and build trusting relationships with young people
• Excellent communication skills
• Active listening skills
• The ability to deal with unexpected problems
• Good organisational abilities
• A sensitive and tactful attitude
• The ability to stay calm in stressful situations
• The ability to relate to young people from a wide variety of backgrounds
• A patient, tolerant and compassionate approach
• Respect for equal opportunities
• Knowledge of health and safety procedures
• Energy and enthusiasm
• The ability to be self-motivated and work under initiative
• Commitment to the job and to young people
• A non-judgemental attitude
• An understanding of the key aspects which affect young people’s lives
• Good team-working abilities
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• The ability to work well with various types of professionals working within the community
• An adventurous approach to the job
• A knowledge of confidentiality and child protection issues
• A knowledge of the National Youth Association’s Ethical Demands in Youth Work policy
• An enthusiasm for arts or sports-related activities

Working Conditions

Youth workers typically work a 35–37 hour week although there are lots of opportunities for part-time work. Whilst the majority of youth worker’s responsibilities happen during the day they are often required to work after-hours, which could involve leading evening youth clubs or conducting outreach work.

Youth workers usually follow a regular routine but it is also important they have a flexible approach to the job as they are often required to respond to unexpected situations. Being a youth worker can be incredibly rewarding but it can also be very stressful and it requires patience and the ability to keep calm regardless of the situation.

Experience

Experience is crucial to finding work as a youth worker as most jobs require one to two years of experience working with young people in either a paid or voluntary capacity. This may involve working as a youth support worker, volunteering at a youth organisation or volunteering to undertake individual sessional work with young people.

Experience of planning or delivering recreational activity will also be useful, as will experience of office administration and of working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Employers

Youth workers are commonly employed by local authorities, voluntary organisations, community or faith-based organisations, established youth clubs, Connexions centres, social services, schools and the NHS.

In rural areas youth workers may also be employed by mobile youth centres which move between villages where there may not typically be much youth work going on.

Career Progression

There is plenty of potential for career progression as a youth worker and there are lots of recognised short courses that can be undertaken on the job to continue developing particular skills. Further details of these can be found on the The National Youth Agency website.

With an NVQ level 3 (or equivalent) in a relevant subject, youth workers can progress to take on a team leader, managerial or project-management role. With experience, youth workers may also take on more specialist projects or begin to work in particularly challenging youth work roles.