A total of 100 youth practitioners will be recruited to the leadership programme delivered by Clore Social Leadership and Leap Confronting Conflict, and funded by the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) through a £550,000 grant.
London Youth will select “high potential” practitioners from across its membership and other youth organisations to undertake the youth practitioners’ leadership programme, which begins in September.
Organisers say practitioners will show potential for sector leadership and influence in their communities, but who themselves face barriers to progressing into formal leadership roles. Many participants will have lived experiences that helps them connect with young people at risk of violence, they add.
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The learning programme has been designed to recognise the broad skill set needed to deliver and lead youth services for young people at risk of, or affected by, violence.
Participants will undergo 26 days of training across the year, timetabled to work around their commitments. Core modules will include:
- trauma-informed practice
- change management
- mental health first aid
- contextual & transitional safeguarding
- business planning
Mentoring and coaching with established voluntary youth sector leaders from across the London Youth network will be available and, on completion of the programme, participants will have access to an innovation fund to implement change in their community to benefit young people experiencing violence.
Organisers say the backing from the London’s VRU recognises the vital role that youth workers play in young people’s lives. The VRU was established last year after a rise in the annual number of violent incidents involving young people in London in the latter half of the last decade.
Rosemary Watt-Wyness, chief executive of London Youth, said the programme was particularly needed as the country starts to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Members of London Youth’s network of community youth organisations have been determined and innovative in responding on the frontline to Covid-19," she said.
"These organisations are driven by youth practitioners who are deeply invested in and trusted by their communities and the young people they support.
“Our leadership programme will actively seek out and invest in 100 youth workers with the untapped potential to be voluntary sector leaders of the future. In the aftermath of Covid-19, London’s communities will need local leadership now more than ever.”
Lib Peck, director of the London VRU, added: “It is now more vital than ever that we invest further in preventing crime, counter the root causes of violence and deliver early intervention that we know helps prevent tragedies.
“Youth workers on the frontline have the lived experience and relationships to deliver those early interventions that can make all the difference, but they need better professional training to unlock their potential and make the most of their role which will benefit young people.
“Our investment in the youth worker leadership programme will empower those at the heart of tackling the underlying issues behind violence in our city, particularly in the most affected areas, helping us to deliver long term solutions for young people and reduce violence across."
