Youth worker

Youth workers encourage the personal and social development of young people, helping them to fulfil their potential, both as individuals and as responsible members of the community. They provide information, advice and counselling, and promote development through planning and delivering social and recreational activities.

Also known as:

Community Worker – youth
Social worker – youth

Work activities

Youth workers spend time in face-to-face work, finding out about young people’s likes and dislikes, their feelings about society, and any problems they want to discuss. Young people use the youth service to meet friends, spend time away from home in a safe environment, get help and advice, and take part in constructive activities. Full-time youth workers are often responsible for a team of part-time workers (known as youth support workers) and volunteers, some of whom may have special skills in sport, music or art. Activities include environmental conservation work, helping disabled people, or taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.

Youth workers may give talks or arrange visits by specialists to discuss personal and health issues that affect young people. They encourage young people to think about their attitudes to other people and discuss issues like racism and sexism. “Detached youth workers” go out into the community and talk to young people who do not currently use the youth service, but who might benefit from it. A partnership of local authorities, local independent groups and national voluntary organisations makes up the Youth Service. Youth groups take place in clubs and community centres but there are also many different settings, including village halls, churches, mosques and synagogues. The youth service is open to everyone between the ages of 11 and 25 years, with the work being mostly with 13- to 19-year-olds.

Personal qualities and skills

As a youth worker, you need:

Good communication and interpersonal skills.
A lot of energy and stamina.
A friendly personality and a sense of fun.
Good organisational skills.

You need an understanding of:

How young people learn and develop.
The factors that affect young people’s lives.
The health and social problems that may affect young people.

You should be able to:

Manage resources and write reports.
Win the trust of young people from different social, racial or ethnic backgrounds.
Listen carefully and ask the right questions to find out about young people’s concerns and problems.
Treat problems in confidence, using tact and counselling skills.

Work with other professionals including teachers, police and probation officers, and social workers. Detached youth workers need the confidence to approach young people and all youth workers must be prepared to encounter and work through initial suspicion and hostility.

Pay and opportunities

Pay rates for youth workers vary depending on the duties of the post. The pay rates given are approximate. Youth workers earn in the range £18,500 to £33,000 with experience.

Full-time youth workers typically work between 37 and 39 hours, Monday to Friday. You may have some early starts or late finishes, and you may work on a rota basis with other team members to cover nights and weekends. You may run youth clubs or groups in the evening. Part-time opportunities are also often available.

Youth workers often work on short-term projects, so many posts are temporary - often lasting six months to two years. Severe cuts in local authority and government funding have meant that there are far fewer opportunities to enter this work. However, youth work skills are still in demand.

Opportunities for youth workers occur throughout the UK. Local authority social services departments are the main employers of youth workers. Other employers include voluntary and charitable organisations.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised in the following places:

Local/national newspapers.
Employers’ websites.
On the Government’s Find a Job service, with apprenticeship opportunities on the Find an Apprenticeship site.
Industry-specific job boards, such as Jobsgopublic.com and Children & Young People Now.

Entry routes and training

There are two levels of entry for this career: youth support worker level and professional level. At youth support worker level, you would work towards an award, certificate or diploma in youth work practice. These are offered at levels 2 and 3.

To become a full-time, professional level youth worker, you need to complete a degree course that is recognised and endorsed by the National Youth Agency (NYA). There are also some NYA-recognised postgraduate courses. Most courses are available full- and part-time. Some are available by distance learning. To get onto a course, you will usually need to show evidence of paid or voluntary work experience. Check carefully to make sure that the course you’re interested in is endorsed by the NYA. A possible entry route into initial training courses for people who do not have academic qualifications is to complete an Access course.

You could begin a level 3 (advanced) apprenticeship as a youth support worker or begin a level 6 (degree) apprenticeship to complete the full training to become a youth worker.

Once employed, you will receive induction training. This will be followed by further training in specific relevant areas, as required.

With experience, it’s possible to progress to supervisory and management positions. With further training, youth workers could move into related careers such as careers advice, social work or counselling, for example.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: This career is an exception to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that you must supply information to an employer about any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings, if they ask you to. This is different from other careers, where you only have to reveal information on unspent convictions if you are asked to.

Qualifications

To enter a degree course that is endorsed by the National Youth Agency, you usually need at least 2 A-levels plus GCSEs (9-4) in 2/3 other subjects. Other qualifications, such as an Edexcel (BTEC) level 3 national qualification or the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma could also be considered. Entry requirements for degree courses vary; check prospectuses carefully.

If you wish to enter this career through an apprenticeship, you will need to be 16 and qualified to complete the course. You will usually need GCSEs (including English and maths) to take an advanced apprenticeship. For degree apprenticeships, you will need A-levels or their equivalent.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

While professional youth worker entry is now degree-level, those who already hold a National Youth Agency (NYA)-recognised DipHE or foundation degree in Youth Work should still be able to enter the profession with their qualifications. Graduates without an NYA-recognised degree can become qualified by taking a postgraduate course.

Many training courses relax formal entry requirements for applicants who can show evidence of paid or voluntary work experience. Most courses are available part-time. There are also some distance learning courses. Check carefully to make sure that the course you are interested in is endorsed by the NYA. You will usually need to show evidence of paid or voluntary work experience.

Related careers

Advice centre worker
Careers advisor
Community worker
Education welfare officer
Educational psychologist
Playworker
Religious leader
Secondary teacher
Teacher