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Youth workers support young people aged 11 to 25 and organise activities to help them develop.
You could work: evenings / weekends; on a rota
In this role you could:
You could work in the community, at an outreach centre, at a college, in an office or at a school.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding and outdoors some of the time.
You can get into this job through:
Qualification level you need to work with young people
You'll need a level 2 qualification to work with young people aged 16 and 17.
You'll need a level 3 qualification to work with young people aged 18 and over.
You could do a professional youth work qualification which is a degree recognised by the National Youth Agency.
You could take a subject like:
Postgraduate courses
You can do a postgraduate qualification to give you professional youth worker status if you have a degree in another subject and relevant experience.
You'll usually need:
You could do a level 2 or 3 diploma in youth work practice. This might give you an advantage when applying for jobs. You could then do further training on the job.
You'll usually need:
Apprenticeships relevant to this role include:
If you take a level 3 apprenticeship, a qualified youth worker or similar professional will help you work towards a youth support worker job.
You would also work towards the level 2 or level 3 certificate in youth work practice while you're an apprentice.
You'll usually need:
You could start as a part time youth support worker and complete on the job training. You can then use this to join a degree course.
Employers value work experience with young people so it's important to get as much as you can. You'll often need at least one year of experience to apply for a job or course in youth work.
You can find voluntary or part time youth work through the National Council for Voluntary Organisations or through a local youth service.
You could apply to become a youth worker if you've got experience and qualifications in teaching, careers guidance, probation or community development.
You'll be expected to complete a postgraduate qualification while you're working to give you professional youth worker status.
More information
You can find out more about careers in youth work from the National Youth Agency.
You'll need to:
With experience you could:become a team leader or manager; move into a specialist role in an area like mental health; get more qualifications and move into a role like social worker, community development worker, teaching assistant or counsellor