Big Interview: Dedicated to the cause - Jim Sweeney, chief executive, YouthLink Scotland

Sweeney's teenage years did involve difficult choices, though. Schooled in England, he spent five years training to be a missionary priest at a junior seminary, before returning to his native Lanarkshire as a 19-year-old in 1972, to train as a youth and community worker.

What changed his mind about becoming a missionary? "Women!" he jokes. "You had to take some time out anyway, to test your vocation." On a serious note, the desire to work for the community had always been with him and the opportunity for the youth work traineeship arose at the right time.

It must have been the right choice, as Sweeney has held practically every role within the sector since. He became a principal community education officer 20 years later, then community learning and development manager at North Lanarkshire Council, serving as chair of Community Learning Development Managers Scotland from 1994 to 1997. He has also been active in shaping workforce development, serving as vice-chair of CeVe, a body that endorses community learning and development courses, and as an associate assessor at HM Inspectorate of Education. He took up his current role as chief executive of YouthLink Scotland in February 2006.