Case studies : Youth worker: Adam

Adam has a foundation degree in Youth Work and is a community development worker with young people for The Trust for Developing Communities.

I have always enjoyed being around people and am credited with having good people skills. Tough home life through my teenage years gave me insight and inspiration to use my experience to support others. Helping people seemed to have more value than other avenues that were open to me at the time and I decided to go into youth work.

My foundation degree course was vocational so I worked throughout. However, the networking opportunities available from being in the field has proved invaluable since gaining my professional qualification and now people come to me offering work.

The placements that my course supported helped to develop my perspective and skills. More generally, the theories and concepts that I can now relate to my practice have helped me to clearly articulate my meaning and express my values. The confidence that comes with this has made me know that I am competent and has given me the foundation on which to build the right career for me.

My course was very relevant to securing my current position as a community development worker with young people for The Trust for Developing Communities. The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) for Youth and Community Workers qualification in Youth Work is well regarded and its applications are quite broad. Locally and nationally employers know that my course produces capable, reflective and progressive practitioners.

My work involves assessing needs with young people and the wider community, and supporting them to meet those needs through sustainable projects whilst increasing skills and confidence. My working day usually involves a later start than most - doing 8 hours when you finish at 8pm offers free mornings. Sessions with young people mostly happen in afternoons and evenings but making them quality informal education environments requires more than just turning up and seeing what happens. So, the behind the scenes work will begin during the day and involve networking, designing sessions, project planning, etc. The best days can be taking a group paintballing when they have raised the money and organised it themselves; the worst days involve compiling lots of monitoring for funders.

Managers have recognised my increased ability and skills with other colleagues due to the professional qualification I have gained and, as a result, I have been given more responsibility. I am much more aware of issues around professional development myself so have since supported others onto the degree course.

What I enjoy about my job is the challenge, the ever-changing landscape and the people who do youth work. I also enjoy feeling impassioned by my work and knowing that I’m helping others. Most of all I enjoy helping young people to be critical and empowered - armed with these two qualities they can achieve anything.

Youth work by its nature can be a bit radical so working within the confines of oppressive societal systems can be frustrating. Dealing with the psychologies of teenagers can also be challenging but seriously interesting as well.

In the future I want to be able to positively influence more work - the higher I move up organisations the more I can do that. Going into training would also be quite interesting.

My advice to others interested in a career in youth work is to do it! Informal education is not bound by the same ‘top down’ curriculum of schooling or state intervention. The work is so varied, interesting, and challenging - there’s something out there for everyone.