Youth and Community Work TrainingDo you need to be a qualified Youth Worker to be employed by the authority?
No, The Youth Service employs unqualified part time staff initially and provides the training they need in order to deliver their work effectively free of charge. (This appointment is subject to criminal and health record checks)
What forms of training are available?
In order to provide a quality service and support all staff a series of training programmes are available.
1. Diploma H.E. Youth & Community Work Studies North East Wales Institute Franchise
Merthyr Tydfil Youth Service has a franchise arrangement with the North East Wales Institute in Wrexham, which was established in order to deliver a coherent route training programme for Youth and Community Workers. This is delivered locally on a part time basis. The Youth Service is committed to improving the quality of youth work within the authority and has established a policy for the Foundation level of this course to become the minimum training requirement for employment within the Service. The authority currently employs 80 part time youth workers and 75% have successfully completed the Foundation course.
The foundation course and the progression route to the Diploma H.E. in youth and community work involve the following:
- Foundation Course – 2½ hours x 12 weeks plus work placement
- Certificate in Youth and Community Work – 2½ hour sessions per week over 18 months plus work placement
- Diploma in Youth and Community Work – 2½ hour sessions per week over 18 months plus work placement
2. In Service Training
A training needs analysis is conducted with each new member of staff in order to assess the training necessary to support the individual in their delivery of youth and community work.
The following courses are examples of what has been developed in order to support staff in effective leadership, specialist skills and health and safety based issues.
- Arts and Crafts
- Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Training
- Community Sports Leadership Award
- Basic /Advanced First Aid
- Mountain Rescue First Aid
- Child Protection
- Curriculum Development/Portfolio Building
- Counselling Skills
- Tutoring Skills
- Dealing with Difficult Behaviour
- Competence in Mini-Bus Training
- Mountain Leadership
- Food Hygiene
- Special Educational Needs Awareness
- Introduction to Information Services for Young People
- Risk Assessment
- Drug Awareness
3. Apprenticeship Training
Merthyr Tydfil Youth Service has identified a need for the development of an apprenticeship training scheme in youth and community work.
The concept of this initiative is based upon establishing a three year training and work programme which young people between the ages of 18-25 will be recruited.
The apprentice/trainee youth worker will be allocated a work placement for four days each week and receive training at a University which offers the Certificate and Diploma in Youth and Community Work.
It is envisaged that the trainee full time staff will be placed alongside current full time staff and provide additional staffing for the Youth Service.
Skills Needs
“The future Skills Wales project shows us that the skills that employers most value are complex. They are the ones which are transferable across most jobs and can be updated by training throughout working life. They cover basic verbal and number skills. They embrace the key skills of communication (including literacy), problem solving, team working, use of ICT and numeracy. They are about lifting expectations and progressively improving attainment. They cover personal values essential to good motivation, judgement, self-discipline, leadership and initiative. These are the basic, key and generic skills.”
- An Education and Training Action Plan for Wales.
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