Key Principles of Youth Work

What exactly is “youth work”?

How does it differ from other approaches of working with young people?

This one day training workshop will assist youth workers to better understand their role, by exploring some of the frameworks and principles upon which a youth worker’s practice is based. The workshop is ideal for people who have recently started as youth workers, but is also a useful refresher for those with more experience. The program for the workshop includes the following topics:

• A brief introduction to adolescent development - what is going on in the lives of the young people we work with?
• The National Definition of Youth Work in Australia
• The Code of Ethics for Youth Workers in NSW
• Using the Code of Ethics to reflect on our own individual practice
• Reframing negative beliefs and stereotypes regarding young people
• Case scenarios - how do we apply these ideas to our work with young people?
• Resources and information that support good youth work practice

A wide variety of methods are used within the workshop, including presentations, small and large group discussions, whole group activities, individual reflection, reading, case studies and scenarios.

About the Trainer:

Andrew Cummings has worked in the community sector for over 35 years. He started his career in grassroots roles working with children and young people in out-of-home care and facing family breakdown, before moving into management and advocacy roles. His areas of specialism include enabling young people’s participation in decision making, and empowering refugee and migrant communities. In 2015 Andrew was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the NSW Youth Work Awards, in recognition of his passion and commitment to achieving positive outcomes for young people.

After more than a decade leading national and international organisations, Andrew established ACT&C in 2013 in order to work as a freelance consultant, trainer and writer. He has written extensively on youth and settlement issues, with over 50 published works. These include text books, training manuals and resource kits published by organisations in Australia, UK, Denmark, Belgium and Canada. Andrew has also developed a wide range of training programs on youth and settlement issues, delivering these to over 3,500 youth and community workers and more than 1,000 young people.

Andrew’s previous roles include being:

• Secretary General of the European Confederation of Youth Clubs
• Executive Director of the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition
• Executive Officer of the Multicultural Youth Affairs Network of NSW
• CEO of the Settlement Council of Australia
• Acting National Manager of the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN Australia)

Feedback

• 100% of previous participants have said they would “recommend this training to their colleagues”
• Over 90% rated the course 10/10 when asked “How would you rate this training overall?”
• Written comments have included:

“This was great. Well-paced; engaging; very practical; great conversation and discussions; it felt very safe to share and practice.”

"I really enjoyed having the space to reflect, think, grow – thank you!”

“I loved learning from other participants and case studies – the time was great to allow rich discussions which doesn’t always happen at other professional development.”

“In general, this was amazing. Thank you!”

“I’m eager to attend another training in future. Love to have more

activities like we did today.”