Considering a Course in Youth Work?
Are you interested in working with the Youth of your community and helping to improve their lives? Youth is defined as the developmental phase between childhood and adulthood, typically starting around the beginning of puberty and ending in the late teens. Due to personal, social, and economic factors, however, it can start or finish much later.
Youth work focuses on working with the youth of a community on personal and social development, so rather than fixing a problem youth workers will work with young people to build skills and attributes that will allow them to make educated and responsible choices for their lives.
Youth work is a very rewarding career for anyone wanting to help those who are most vulnerable within our communities and work in a career that will help change lives for the better and the great news is that there are many Youth Work courses currently available for you to get started.
What is Youth Work?
Youth work could involve running youth clubs, drama classes, sports clubs, or other youth services – anywhere that you would be working directly with young people.
Youth work seeks to promote young people’s personal and social development and enable them to have a voice, influence, and place in their communities and society as a whole. It builds resilience and character and gives young people the confidence and life skills they need to live, learn, work and achieve.
This approach is at the heart of all youth work, Youth workers are passionate about helping young members of society achieve their potential.
Why is Youth Work so important?
Youth workers work with young people to help them make positive changes in their lives and develop the skills to help them make good choices in the future. It is about offering young people safe spaces and opportunities to explore their identity and experience what it is like to make their own decisions and think through the consequences of their actions.
Youth work is about increasing confidence and developing inter-personal skills in young people. All of these factors will lead to better-informed choices and changes in activity that will improve outcomes for young people.
What Will I Learn about Youth Work?
- You will learn how to listen to and understand young people’s problems.
- You will learn to think about and take into account different backgrounds and circumstances and how to counsel youth around specific issues related to these.
- You will learn how to interact and work with families and guardians of children and teens.
- You will learn how to ask questions and make decisions to arrive at the best possible outcomes for the welfare of the youth you are working with.
- You will learn how to assess young people and offer them services specific to their needs.
- You will learn how to identify young people at risk and how to address these issues delicately.
- You will learn about the health and safety of young people and how to build important relationships and trust-building skills.
- You will learn to understand and support young people struggling with mental health, emotional, or safety issues.
Career Opportunities in Youth Work
After completing your course in Youth Work, you can expect to work as a Youth Services Coordinator, Case Worker, Case Manager, Youth Worker, Youth Work Team Leader, Aid Worker, Social Worker, or Counsellor. You could work at facilities like local youth clubs, community or religious centers.
If you’re serious about doing a course in Youth Work, check out courses in the Nightcourses.co.uk national course finder.
