Children's workforce guide to training and qualifications

Providing the right qualifications and training is vital across the children's workforce to protect and support young people. This is true of initial training for those embarking on careers working with children, young people and families, and ongoing professional development to ensure practitioners and managers have the skills they need to cope with shifting demand and increased complexity.

Most professions are facing their own challenges. In social work, where efforts to reform education and training continue, a £400m investment in professional development comes against the backdrop of the closure of the College of Social Work. Youth work professionals are increasingly taking on roles outside traditional youth work settings such as in housing schemes, health services and youth justice programmes, while the family courts sector has seen an increase in the provision of family mediation services in recent years.