Youth work must always be responsive and recognised
Derren Hayes
Monday, October 10, 2016
Youth work is at a crossroads.
The 50 per cent cut in local authority spending on youth services since 2011/12 has led to reductions in provision and staff which in turn has forced many councils to reassess how they deliver young people's services (see Special Report policy context).
Some have taken the decision to target interventions on young people most in need instead of offering a universal service, while others have instigated more fundamental change by partnering with charities and creating community interest companies to deliver services on their behalf. In addition, numbers of youth work trainees are falling, with just one in 10 going on to be employed by a local authority after graduation.
Those youth work professionals who remain in statutory settings are using their skills in ever more varied ways. They are counselling young people with mental health problems, supporting social workers to protect children at risk and helping pupils struggling at school to make a smooth transition to a college or work placement, to name just a few (see practice examples).
These changes have generated new ways of working that have made a real difference to young people's lives and could point the way for the future of the profession. Youth mutuals are broadening the reach of youth services by establishing links with a wide range of public, private and voluntary organisations. Giving young people a greater say in shaping services is also written into their DNA. Once the six in operation become established, more will follow.
Despite the benefits, these developments also have their drawbacks. Recent research on the impact of austerity on youth policy found the demise in council youth work jobs is making it more difficult to attract volunteers, while cuts to training budgets are undermining the development of youth workers' skills (see research evidence).
Meanwhile, the National Youth Agency (NYA) warns that the role of youth work is often going unrecognised in these new services, with the term youth work sometimes being dropped altogether. As the NYA says, if the youth work title and role is not used or acknowledged, it fails to advance the status of the profession and runs the risk of its contribution going unnoticed.
Two things could be done to help ensure that this is not the path for the future. At a national level, the government should produce a successor policy paper to 2010's Positive for Youth that reaffirms the vital and unique contribution that youth work plays in young people's lives across a wide range of settings. At a local level, authorities should follow the lead of Surrey County Council, which recently held a commission to map out a positive future role for youth work. This put young people's views at the forefront of decisions.
Youth work will continue to evolve in response to further reductions in public sector funding and the changing needs of young people. It is vital that as that happens, trained, qualified youth workers are there to help young people overcome problems and thrive.
