Making Youth Work Work: A Toolkit - Section 6 SECTION 6 - Youth
Workers are appropriately trained, qualified and competent Many
people think that youth work is easy: from the outside, its lack
of formal structures and relaxed approach to working alongside
young people looks pretty straightforward. But those who have
done it for a longer time know that it involves a lot of really
complex processes, a good understanding of how young people grow
and develop, an ability to use conversation as a tool to help
young people learn and a clear understanding of the boundaries
between a professional relationship and friendship. Youth
workers need to have a substantial toolkit of approaches and
techniques to help them help young people get the most out of
different situations. And, most importantly, they have to
actually like young people and enjoy their company! There is a
tradition of professional training for youth work that goes back
to the 19th century, and training now is based on regularly
reviewed National Occupat