Youth worker training continues to be one of Youth Scotland’s pillars, as we continue to provide training to community-based youth groups. Youth Scotland offers a wide range of agile and continuous professional learning, providing youth work workforce with the skills they need to make a positive impact in the lives of the young people they support.
Learning for Every Stage of Youth Work
Youth Scotland’s training provides practical training and accredited pathways for every youth work journey
A Youth Scotland trainer supports youth workers in Ready for Youth Theatre
Youth Scotland has a fantastic way of teaching but also gives the opportunity to learn from others. See having that conversation with people from other groups you learn so much from each other – it’s not just young people who peer-learn! As I said, they have been a fantastic support to our organisation and I love them!
Our training programme offered accredited and non-accredited training opportunities in Youth Awards (1,026), Ready for Youth Work (1,092), Trusted Adult (1,343), PDA in Youth Work (47).
As the national charity for supporting and delivering youth work in the community, we identified the need to offer funding support to youth groups who might need help. We know that resourcing community-based youth groups (including in areas of disadvantage and deprivation) enables young people to access a variety of opportunities that allow them to build self-esteem, develop life skills and increase their confidence.
Below are just three examples of the training we have delivered in 2024-25
Training to be a trusted adult
We spoke to Haldane Youth Services about their experience of Youth Scotland’s Trusted Adult Training. Haldane Youth Services is a lifeline for young people and families and have a particular focus on improving the young people’s mental health and wellbeing and supporting them to understand their emotions and communicate better.
“I’ve also done ‘What’s the Harm’ [self-harm awareness training] and the mental health training where I maybe haven’t talked with older groups about that stuff before. Now they come in here and I can have that conversation when it is open, and you are asking the questions that best benefit the young people.”
The trust-based, voluntary relationship formed between a youth worker and a young person is the means by which the youth worker supports the young person’s development, making it essential for us to support youth workers and volunteers in our member groups to provide young people with the skills necessary for them to provide safe spaces for the young people they support.
Getting ready for Youth Work
We speak to YMCA Kilmarnock about their experiences of Ready for Youth Work in late 2024. YMCA Kilmarnock primarily offers youth programmes for those aged 5-17 but also runs a community café, community garden and a drop in for older adults.
“If it wasn’t for the youth work training, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to plan the kids garden club – it’s starting in April! As the only youth worker with gardening skills, I needed to come up with it all by myself. From Ready for Youth Work, I planned each month of garden club starting with garden safety and then doing things for different seasons. I’m happier. A miracle. And I like the kids, man!”
Practitioners who have completed Ready for Youth Work report increased levels of confidence in their session-delivery and highlight the practical, group-work style that defines Youth Scotland’s training offer. Ready for Youth Work is a place where everyone can learn from everyone.
PDA in Youth Work
We speak to Dale, an instructor at Helm Training in Dundee, who reflects on his youth work journey and the impact of his experience on the PDA across Autumn and Winter 2024. Helm Training supports young people aged 15 to 25 from across Tayside to move into and maintain employment through qualifications, hands-on vocational training, work placements and wrap around support.
“My job is essentially to aid these young people to get qualifications and give them the skills necessary to do okay in life. And I… believe that youth work is a huge, huge part of that. Huge part of like of the success of a young person. I wanted to theory, background, like ore of a knowledge base on what I’m doing and what the outcomes I’m working towards are and… to really have foundations to my practice.”