Twenty-four-year-old youth worker Martin Smith is precisely the type of dynamic person youth work should be attracting as its next generation of worker.
Smith is currently working as an assistant youth worker at Wiltshire Youth Development Service after taking part in Youth Steps, a joint initiative between Wiltshire County Council, The Prince's Trust and The National Youth Agency (NYA). While Smith says he is "really enjoying the challenge" of being a youth worker, many other men don't seem so keen.
According to a survey carried out by Youth Work Now, the number of women studying towards full youth worker status is outstripping the number of men by a ratio of two to one. Of the 42 universities that offer Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC)-approved qualifications, 27 replied to the study. Collectively they had 1,129 women on their courses compared with only 601 men (see chart). The figures tally with separate research by The NYA, which has found that since 2001 the number of men starting on JNC-approved courses has fluctuated between 33 and 41 per cent.
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