TOHU Project

The TOHU Project is a sector wide collaboration led by the National Youth Workers Network Aotearoa (NYWNA).

The key features of the project are:

- It will lead to the achievement of the National Diploma in Youth Work (level 6) through a combination of work place assessment and workshops/wananga.

- It is offered as a professional development option for youth workers already in employment (in any combination of paid or voluntary roles) and not as a course of study for those wanting to enter youth work.

- It will be accessible to youth workers throughout the country through participating youth worker networks and organisations. We will bring the learning and assessment process to each area to minimise disruption for those with work and family commitments.

- The project will employ a small team of mentors who will work with local groups of youth workers to assess what they already know, arrange for short professional development workshops to fill in the gaps, and support their assessment process towards the National Diploma requirements.

– – – – –

– – – – –

Background

Youth workers support the development of young people across the spectrum, and are often involved in with those who are most vulnerable or are going through a hard time.

Youth workers are not social workers. They provide programmes and services based around connecting with young people and journeying with them at a relational level. They are often the people that social workers and schools will refer a young person to for support.

Youth workers have unique training needs, although they normally connect outside of clinical settings, they are often in the frontline in working with young people where they are at. They are the everyday counsellors, career guidance advisors, coaches, mentors, taxi drivers and educators that many young people will seek help from in between appointments with other more specialised professional services.

A 2006 snapshot of youth workers in New Zealand revealed that most people find their way into these roles as a volunteer in their community, and then move into paid employment. Youth workers are employed by community organisations and churches, by schools, the police and CYFS. A rough estimate suggests that there are over 6,000 youth workers in NZ and the Real Work report found that less than 50% have accessed any formal training related to their role.

– – – – –

Qualifications in Youth Work
5% of youth workers have a certificate
2% have a diploma or degree

– – – – –

The TOHU project is focused on up skilling the existing workforce and supporting individual youth workers to gain a nationally recognised qualification.

This project is particularly strategic as the Social Services ITO works with the sector to develop the first ever (in NZ) degree in youth development. Preparing people to staircase into the different levels of this new qualification will be essential to helping it become viable.

– – – – –

Poll

How familiar are you with the National Code of Ethics for Youth Work?