Youth Work in Wales

New four year plan to strengthen the role of Youth Work in Wales

A new plan to strengthen the role of Youth Work in Wales has been unveiled by Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, Ken Skates.

Thursday 20 February 2014

The new four year National Youth Work Strategy, which will be unveiled today at the National Youth Work Conference in Llandudno, aims to elevate the status of youth work as both a service and a profession.

The new plan comes as the Welsh Government prepares to celebrate the most outstanding youth workers and youth projects in Wales at the Youth Work in Wales Excellence Awards 2014, which is also being held tonight in Llandudno’s Venue Cymru.

The National Youth Work Strategy sets out how Youth Work can support the Welsh Government’s priorities of narrowing the gap in educational achievement and reducing the number of young people who are not engaged in education, employment and training.

The new strategy strives to achieve four key outcomes.

The first will be ensuring that young people across Wales can continue to have access to diverse formal and non-formal learning opportunities, opportunities that stretch their horizons and help them grow in confidence.  

The second will be strengthening the relationship between youth work organisations in Wales and formal education on both a local and national basis.

This would include seeing youth workers playing more of a formal role in supporting young people who are most at risk of disengaging with education and training – an integral part of the Welsh Government’s Youth Engagement and Progression Framework.

The third outcome is a better co-ordinated and more consistent youth work offer to young people, with youth work organisations in the statutory and voluntary sector working together more effectively.

Key to the overall success of the strategy will be the ability to demonstrate the impact and outcomes of youth work. A National Outcomes Framework will be developed specifically for this purpose.

The Deputy Minister said:

“Tonight we’ll be celebrating some of Wales’ most outstanding youth workers and youth projects. This new strategy is all about ensuring that we draw on this excellence and expertise to improve the lives of young people in Wales.

“That’s why we’ve placed such an emphasis on strengthening the relationship between youth organisations and formal education. When it comes to supporting a young person to stay on in education, a Youth Worker could make all the difference.

“Together we can build and sustain high quality, efficient and well-integrated youth work provision that meet the needs of all of our young people.

“Youth Work is one of our society’s most important and underused resources. By strengthening the service in this way, we can ensure that all of our young people have the opportunities and support they need to succeed”