The 2019 Youth Work Strategy for Wales posits the following understanding of youth work:

‘Youth work in Wales promotes and actively encourages opportunities for all young people in order that they may fulfil their potential as empowered individuals and as members of groups and communities, thereby improving their life chances. It supports them through significant changes in their lives and encourages them to gain and develop knowledge, understanding, attitudes and values, and to make constructive use of their skills, resources and time. In doing so it promotes opportunities and access for all young people whatever their race, gender, sexual identity, language, religion, disability, age, background or personal circumstances. A key role for youth work is to challenge oppression and inequality, while supporting and enabling young people to keep themselves safe.’

Youth Work: Principles and Purposes, a collaborative document produced by representatives of the voluntary and local authority youth work sectors in Wales with the Education Workforce Council. (2018) setting out the key principles which underpin youth work, explains that youth work provides or facilitates:

• places and relationships within which young people can enjoy themselves, feel secure, supported and valued, learn to take greater control of their lives, and recognise and resist the damaging influences which may affect them;
•  non-formal, informal and structured educational opportunities and experiences which challenge both the institutions and young people themselves to enhance their personal, social and political development;
• access to relevant advice, information, support and guidance.

Furthermore, the Youth Work National Occupational Standards explains that the main purpose of youth work is to ‘enable young people to develop holistically, working with them to facilitate their personal, social and educational development, to enable them to develop their voice, influence and place in society and to reach their full potential.’

The Education Workforce Council (Registration of Youth Workers, Youth Support Workers and Work Based Learning Practitioners) Order 2016 lists various educational qualifications and alternative requirements for youth workers. Youth workers are someone who meets these requirements, and who ‘provides (or wishes to provide) youth development services.’

According to the Order, those who do not meet these requirements can only work with youth in a volunteer capacity.

ETS Wales ensures that training programmes for youth workers are of a high standard and are relevant to the needs of young people, youth workers and their employers. ETS Wales carries out its work on behalf of the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) for Youth and Community Workers, which itself sets the national frameworks used to grade and pay all youth work positions.

Two levels of JNC approved training are currently available:

• youth support workers; delivered by local authorities and resulting in a Level 2 or 3 qualification on the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW)
• professionally qualified youth workers - delivered by five universities across Wales and resulting in a Level 6 or 7 qualifications on the CQFW.

Moreover, members of the CWVYS are able to access training and development opportunities for their staff and volunteers. A number of best practice guides for youth workers are available on the CWVYS website.

Note that since the passing of the Education Workforce Council (Registration of Youth Workers, Youth Support Workers and Work Based Learning Practitioner) Order 2016, individuals working in aspects of youth work in Wales, including on behalf of a local authority, school or charity, must be registered with the General Teaching Council for Wales.

Youth Work Excellence Awards

The Welsh government offers the Youth Excellence Awards which recognise and celebrate outstanding youth work projects, youth workers and those involved in youth work across Wales. There are two categories of awards: Outstanding Youth Projects and Individual Awards.

The six awards within the category of Outstanding Youth Projects are designed to celebrate specific youth projects in the fields of:

•  Promoting heritage and cultures in Wales and beyond;
• Promoting health, wellbeing and active lifestyles;
• Engagement with formal education, employment or training;
• Promoting the arts, media and digital skills;
• Promoting young people’s rights;
• Promoting equality and diversity.

The three individual awards consist of:

• Outstanding Youth Worker - a qualified youth worker who goes above and beyond their normal role to be exceptional.
• Outstanding Youth Work Volunteer - volunteers who demonstrate the outstanding contribution they make to young people as an individual or through a project.
• Making a Difference - anyone who has made a difference to the lives of young people regardless of whether they consider themselves to be a youth worker.

Youth Cymru offers the Youth Achievement Awards. These awards are designed to formally recognise young people’s participation. Through them, young people can gain a nationally recognised, accredited award for involvement in youth work activities and volunteering.  These awards are accredited by Agored Cymru,  an awarding body for education and training providers in Wales.

Progress is measured through four different levels of achievement, all based upon the amount of responsibility undertaken by the young person.

Each level of the award connects to a different point on the UK Youth Social Development Journey and represents different levels of participation and skillset. Through their progression through youth work, young people will gain vital life skills and become motivated, self-aware, receptive, resilient, responsible, confident and good communicators.

The Youth Achievement Awards celebrate the cultivation of the following skills competences in young people through youth work:

• Challenge – entry level introduction to youth work;
• Bronze – taking part and getting involved;
• Silver – helping to organise;
• Gold – planning and leading;
• Platinum – taking a full leadership role, with an element of training.

(From the Youth Wiki)