Youth Work and Policy
Youth work is multifaceted practice. This makes it difficult to identify the defining features of youth work. In this piece we offer an overview of some central characteristics of youth work.
In some countries ‘youth work' is a relatively well-defined, distinct practice. In other countries (especially in southern European countries), the term is less known and there is no identifiable overall concept of youth work. In all countries however we observe a distinct, but diverse field of social and educational practices shaping a so called ‘third socialisation environment', next to family and school.
Regarding the target group of youth work it can be observed that in a number of countries youth work is restricted to the work with young people (15-25 years), in other countries (e.g. Belgium, Germany, …) there is no strong distinction between children's work and youth work. The same differences are to be found regarding the distinctions between cultural work or welfare work with young people resulting in a number of countries in strong dividing lines between what could be called ‘youth work working with young people' and ‘youth work working on young people'. In most countries however there is a clear tendency to take a broad perspective on youth work integrating differentiated practices, with different target groups and varying aims.
The term ‘youth work’ is used to describe a diverse range of activities, topics and measures provided by a range of actors in assorted fields and settings. However, at the heart of youth work there are three core features that define it as youth work distinct from other policy fields:
■ a focus on young people,
■ personal development, and
■ voluntary participation.
Not all countries have a formal definition of youth work and amongst those that do, there is a variety of definitions. Based on a review of national definitions and experts’ views, this study identified that the following characteristics are frequently cited when describing youth work.
Reach of youth work
A challenge when discussing the reach of youth work is that no EU country has a comprehensive overview of the reach of youth work in terms of those participating in youth work activities. One third of countries analysed have no data on this issue. Those countries that collect data often only have information about particular segments of youth work. The data is frequently:
■ based on membership in youth organisations but membership-based organisations represent only one part of the youth work sector;
■ based on numbers of participants in activities funded by a specific programme causing possible double counting as a significant share of young people participate in more than one set of activities;
■ not broken down into more detailed categories enabling refined analysis of who is reached and who is left out.
As a proxy, an existing survey of young people2 showed that more than one young European (aged 15 to 30) in two participated (during the 12 months prior to the survey) in activities of at least one type of organisation named3 . Though not all organisations named always offer youth work, this data indicates that the reach of youth work is possibly significant. One young person in five took part in activities of a youth club, leisure time club or a youth organisation. Furthermore, there are some groups of particularly active young people who participate in a broad range of activities. However, this research also shows that some groups have less access to youth work than others.
These are:
■ Older age groups of young people (aged 18 and over);
■ Young people in rural areas;
■ Young people from migrant backgrounds;
■ Young people from other minority groups (e.g. disabled, LGBT);
■ Disadvantaged young people. Therefore, whilst some young people gain the most out of youth work, many of those with perhaps the greatest potential to benefit from youth work are not currently being reached by youth work.
Youth work has three essential features:
-Young people choose to participate
-The work takes place where the young people are
-It recognizes that the young person and the youth worker are partners in a learning process
What are the values, principles and processes that inform youth work?
Youth work has three essential and definitive features:
- Young people choose to participate
The young person takes part voluntarily. She/he chooses to be involved, not least because they want to relax, meet friends and have fun. The young person decides whether to engage or to walk away.
- Youth work must build from where young people are
Youth Work operates on young people's own personal and recreational territory - within both their geographic and interest communities. The young person's life experience is respected and forms the basis for shaping the agenda in negotiation with peers and youth workers.
-Youth Work recognises the young person and the youth worker as partners in a learning process
The young person is recognised as an active partner who can, and should, have opportunities and resources to shape their lives. The relationship and dialogue between the young person and youth worker is central to the learning process.
So what does a youth worker do, exactly?
Youth workers help young people with a whole range of issues from behavioural difficulties to teenage pregnancy. But what’s an average day like and what skills do you need?
Traditionally, the youth worker has been a standalone role incorporated into the services offered by local authorities. Now, there is a breadth of jobs and sectors where working with young people plays a dominant role, and where the skills and knowledge of youth workers are in demand; from criminal justice to social care, across the private and voluntary sectors.
Ultimately, all youth work has one key aim – to help young people's emotional and social development in an informal setting but through educational processes. By developing supportive relationships with young people, and opening their eyes to new experiences, youth workers foster increased confidence, ambition and empathy. This prepares them to make a positive contribution to society in adult life. Youth workers tackle a whole spectrum of issues, from behavioural difficulties to teenage pregnancy.
There are essential attributes that all youth workers need – energy, patience and creativity are paramount. And now more than ever, a positive approach to collaboration with other organisations is key. This is especially true in the public sector, where resources are limited and services are being outsourced.
To qualify, youth workers complete a three-year degree in youth work or community studies. The National Youth Agency offers information on accredited courses in England and Wales. Some universities allow students to study part-time, while also undertaking youth work part-time.
Typical duties for a Youth Worker could include:
Organising events and activities;
-Initiating and undertaking projects that are both fun and educational;
-Encouraging participation and involvement;
-Providing advice, support, and counselling;
-Recruiting, managing and supervising volunteers;
-Creating reports and business plans to encourage funding;
-Working with police, schools, parents, and other community groups;
Programs for developing youth work in different countries
Policy developments affecting youth work
Comparing the political landscape across EU countries there is evidence that young people are a policy priority, and youth work is growing in importance as it gains more prominence on the political agenda. Countries are at different stages in terms of how developed their youth legislation, policies, strategies and funding programmes are; however, in the vast majority of countries in Europe there are notable critical policy developments that affect youth work. In some countries the critical developments in youth policy are at the stage of being developed for the first time, whereas in others they are replacing strategies and political commitment to youth that has a longer tradition. It could be viewed that the renewal of a youth strategy or plan is not as significant as putting a new strategy or plan in place for youth for the first time, however, the renewal and replacement of older strategies and programmes indicates the renewed importance of youth policies at national level.
The recent critical policy developments that affect youth work can be described as:
■ Recent legislation/decree on youth (BG, LT, LU, SI);
■ Recently developed national youth strategy, youth plan or youth policy or in the various stages of the process to develop one; (BG, BE [de], BE[fr], FR, IE, LV, MT, RO, SE, SI,UK [Eng]; UK [Scot]);
■ Renewing/replacing an expired youth strategy, youth plan or youth policy; (AT, BE [nl], CZ, EE, LT, SK, UK [NI], UK [Wales]);
■ Implementing a national programme or dedicated funding for youth and/or youth work; (DK, FI, IT).
Where progress in prioritising youth issues has been slow or has recently stalled, this is primarily due to the current economic climate for two reasons, budgetary constraints which are limiting funding arrangements or a shift in priorities away from youth due to greater concerns about other policy areas such as employment. Section 5.3 earlier in this chapter discusses the impact of the economic crisis on youth work funding in terms of national budgets. Though not universal, it found that the majority of countries have suffered public government funding budget cuts for youth work. In terms of youth policy developments affecting youth work, the process has either stalled or has yet to appear on the political agenda in countries that have suffered most due to the recent economic crisis: Cyprus, Greece, Spain and Portugal. Another EU country who has suffered problems with its national budget due to the crisis, Ireland, has experienced some budget cuts in the area of youth work, however, the economic crisis does not appear to have affected policy developments there with an increased in importance in the form of a new youth work strategy in development alongside the introduction of quality standards for youth work. Therefore, it appears that the economic crisis has not only resulted in budget cuts in the worst affected countries, but it has impeded the development of youth policies with the exception of Ireland. In a few other cases: Denmark, Finland and Sweden, it has been out of the growing concern around the youth unemployment crisis that has shifted the policy focus onto young people with ‘youth guarantee’ type policies being introduced in these countries. These guarantees have been put in place to ensure an offer of a job, work experience, education or training is given to young people within a given age range who have not been able to integrate into the labour market within a defined time period. In summary, the recent commitment to either putting a youth strategy, policy or law in place or renewing these is very evident across the EU; though it should be said that countries are in various stages of this process. Some countries have had a youth policy in place for quite some time and the growing importance of youth and youth work is demonstrated through their renewed commitment by developing or implementing a new policy to replace what has gone before. Other countries have recently put in place new youth policies for the first time, whilst others may still not have one in place but are working on the development of a youth policy. Whilst in some countries the youth unemployment crisis has resulted in specific policies and packages for youth, in others the economic crisis has stalled the development of youth work policies.
Summary
Whilst the idea of an average youth worker does not exist, there are some conclusions we can draw about those who work with young people. Firstly, a high percentage of youth workers are volunteers and those who are salaried are more often found in the delivery of statutory youth services, though this is not always the case. Although youth workers can be a recognised profession, recognition is not universal and legal requirements are patchy and are primarily in relation to qualification standards.
Youth workers are driven by wanting to work with young people in a positive way, which can often be inspired by their own engagement with youth work as a young person. They are motivated by a range of causes such as sharing in a particular vision for a youth initiative, the goal of empowering young people, learning from young people, etc.
Even though there is evidence that the sector itself provides development opportunities for youth workers and the recognition of learning (and the validation of those skills) is happening to some degree, these supports for youth workers are often piecemeal with clear frameworks in terms of professional development largely absent. Therefore, it is unsurprising that training opportunities and the recognition of learning are identifiable needs amongst youth workers.
One of the challenges facing the youth work profession is to strengthen their profile in ways that are supportive, rather than in ways that negatively impact on the diversity that is observable within the sector. Whilst national level recognition and strategies for youth workers can support a portion of the youth worker population, it has to be borne in mind that a large share of the workforce participates on a voluntary basis and recognition of youth workers has to support both salaried and volunteer youth workers. One solution is to focus on high quality training for all youth workers, whilst another controversial strategy is to introduce a set of quality standards. Regardless of the approach, a key issue is to recognise the value of youth work and the contributions that youth workers make in the lives of young people. In order to achieve that recognition, a starting point is clear: learning pathways and development opportunities for both salaried and volunteer youth workers. As Thompson and Shockley147 highlight, youth work is about supporting young people, however those who work with them face chronic issues and poor support which is linked to job turnover. Whilst there is evidence of progression across the EU in terms of career pathways for youth workers (and volunteers), there is still quite some distance to go, especially to recognise the experience and contributions of youth workers.