News Release
Rewarding Youth Work
14th December 2005
Youth work in the North-West enters a new era this week when professional awards in the sector are conferred for the first time at University of Ulster’s Magee campus.
Twenty students who are full-time community youth workers will receive the awards in a special ceremony on Friday 16th - marking a new phase in the university’s provision of youth work education.
“Our long term aim is to provide a number of courses in community youth work at Magee ranging from pre-qualification to post-qualification levels,” said community youth work lecturer Pat Henry.
“ The students graduating on Friday are the first group to receive the Diploma of Higher Education in Community Youth Work. It is a vital qualification for youth workers, as it is not just an academic award but a recognised professional qualification that leads to approved terms and conditions in a variety of contexts.
“This is a big sector, embracing statutory, voluntary and community agencies and the success of our first cohort on the Magee course demonstrates their ability to work in unison for the benefit of the profession,” Mr Henry said.
Research has highlighted high demand for university training among youth workers in the west of the province and cross-border areas. A five-year development plan compiled last year by Mr Henry and associate lecturer Helen Armstrong proposed a phased expansion of studies at Magee to meet established demand from workers, ranging from some who have been in the profession for many years and others who are new entrants.
The survey was conducted among community youth workers in Counties Derry, Tyrone and Donegal. It found that there was a priority need for training for unqualified workers. It showed that 84 % of respondents who asserted a preferred location for training opted for Magee. Some 37 % of the total sample said that they would attend a course at Magee which would lead to a professional community youth work qualification. About 38 % of the respondents worked on a voluntary basis and 50% were in paid employment.
In 2007/08, it is expected that community youth work will become an all-degree profession, a move which is seen as crucial in underpinning the status of the sector and a morale-booster to all grades. The development plan proposes that Magee will offer a part-time degree course in the subject commencing in Sept 2006.
“There is a huge demand for places on community youth work courses,” Mr Henry said.
“We have 275 community youth work students in training at Magee and in Jordanstown. That is a dramatic rise on the numbers of even five years ago. There is stiff competition for all the courses, which range from Pre-Vocational, to Diploma and BSc (Hons) to PostGraduate/Masters.
“Within the next two years the Community Youth Work Team at Magee also hope to offer interdisciplinary training which could afford students from a range of disciplines e.g., social workers, health workers and community youth workers the opportunity to share theories and practice. This is a clear opportunity for the university to embrace new, meaningful partnerships within all sectors and caring professionals.”
For further information, please contact:
Martin Cowley
Telephone: 028 71675083
Email: Martin Cowley
