5 Tips On How To Become A Great Youth Worker

Now I don’t know what you think but I now know that after many years of working in the field that I don’t have all the answers to being a good or great youth worker. But what I do know is that there are many youth workers out there who are great youth workers and are exceptionally good at their work.

This has made me reflect and realize that I do not have all the answers to being a great youth worker. There are so many other people like you that have taken the journey and are far better than me.

I am very fortunate to have been in contact with these amazing strong remarkable people and had the opportunity to learn from them a lot.

I have some suggestions for newbie youth workers or students to reflect and act on so that they can start the journey of potentially becoming a great youth worker and be good at what they do.

So here goes enjoy…

1. Values- You must have a clear understanding of your own core values and reflect on them so that you are not confused about what you believe in.

I believe in order to be a great youth worker you must understand that it has to take more than just being passionate about working with young people. I believe that you as a youth worker you need to know what you believe and why you really came into the field of youth work.

2. You Are A Thinker- As a youth worker sometimes you are required to think on the spot when you are faced with a situation and you need to think and react fast in order to have an impact on the situation. On the other hand, you have to be more strategic.

This means that you have or must have a solid vision as to what you want to achieve with your young person or project as a whole.

You must have a plan of your own development and the development of the young people participating in your projects or youth clubs.

3.  Organised– As youth workers, you are constantly bombarded with a task after tasks such as planning Sessions, booking venues and trips and not to mention the health and safety aspect of keeping track of your risk assessments.

If you’re managing a budget you are responsible for keeping receipts and permission slips all at the same time.

Knowing how to delegate will save you time to concentrate more on the important aspect of your role. You need to be self-aware enough to know that you need to delegate someone in your team that can do this for you.

4. Awesome Leader– As a leader, you should be able to lead in a way that helps everyone and supports the team in creating an environment whereby your team members feel empowered.

This in return creates a sense of ownership for the program project in your youth club and allows for the constructive professional development of your team.

5. Reflective– This is one of the best skill to have as it will make you humble, teachable and an attitude to learn from others.

Knowing and admitting when you’ve learned something new from your young people, volunteers or other team members empowers them and commands respect from your staff and young people.