Becoming a Youth Worker?

[Tuesday83]

How might who has absolutely no experience become a Youth Worker (possibly working with disadvantaged youth, especially those facing drug problems).
Where would one start?

[craft1948]

http://www.ukyouth.org/

[mollykins]

Volunteering at a youth centre or a school would give you sort of relevant experience with children, my mum's becoming a teacher and she needed experience with children so she volunteered at a school. But you could go to something like girl guides/ scouts, especially if you already have a useful skill such as first aid.

[Postdog]

Just a thought. I wanted to break into training years ago, so to get my foot in I did some as a volunteer to start.

[mollykins]

But crafts link will probly tel lyou what formall stuff you need.

[craft1948]

Don't know if the above link is any use Tuesday.
I trained 40 years ago as a part-time worker and was put forward for a training course by my local youth club leader. This invoved one nights tutorial at college each week and one nights practical at a local club, all unpaid.
After the first year I did one night in a youth club and one night mentoring on a one to one basis at the local drop-in centre for which I was paid.
Very rewarding, but very hard work and sometimes quite scarey........
If you are looking at becoming a full-time worker I believe you need a degree course.

[mollykins]

And they can give you a reference if yuo do well (always useful to have a relevant reference)

[karenmac60]

See if there's a Volunteer Tutor Organisation in your area. They give you training to do one to one tutoring with children and teenagers - quite often from disadvantaged backgrounds, and often just with basic reading and writing difficulties. It won't give you any proper qualifications but it will give you some experience and something to get your foot in the door.

[saxy_jag]

Speak to your local council or volunteer bureau and tell them you'd like to become a youth leader and would like to get some experience. They'll put you in touch with a group (or groups) who will welcome some volunteer input. When you're a little more experienced, you can go for a part-time youth worker post and then onto something more.

I used to be a youth leader in the 1990s, at a school for with kids with learning disabilities. One lad was desperate to attend but he was too young, so his dad came along to take responsibility for him. Dad helped out as a volunteer in all the activities we did and eventually became a paid worker, not the least because the kids adored him and would listen to him when all other reasoning failed with them. After the school closed, he moved on and opened a youth club via his church, which is still going strong with dad at the helm, plus he's now working with young offenders teaching them woodwork skills. Considering this dad also went to a special school in his youth, he's a fantastic role model.

So never underestimate the power of volunteering.