Apprenticeship Guide: Youth Work

This Apprenticeship is about helping young people fulfil their potential through personal and social development. This is about providing young people with challenges and new experiences, but allowing them to be creative, active and have fun – all part of an informal education that helps young people to develop their own voice and identity.

As an apprentice in this area, no two days of work will be the same. Every young person has a unique situation, and so you could be doing all sorts: offering counselling and support, developing projects that tackle issues, or organising activities like sports and drama. You’ll need to come up with creative ways to reach young people, and be able to build relationships with them.

There’s an administrative side to youth work as well. You might help manage volunteers or part-time staff, help apply for grants, keep records of your work, and network with other professionals including social workers, teachers and probation officers.

At the end of your Apprenticeship, you’ll be a youth support worker and in a good position to take the next step in your career as a youth worker, with qualifications that most employers will support you in doing on a part-time basis.

Job Roles

Intermediate Level Apprenticeship

  • Assistant Youth Support Worker

Advanced Level Apprenticeship

  • Youth Support Worker

This article is produced with permission from the Skills Funding Agency who fund skills training for further education (FE) in England. They support over 1,000 colleges, private training organisations, and employers with more than £4 billion of funding each year.