Background

The Training Unit focuses on developing and delivering quality training and accreditation opportunities for young people, young leaders, volunteers and youth workers. We work to promote:

Leadership - developing the skills and potential of young people, young leaders, and volunteers

Community Development - working in partnership with local communities to develop skills and capacity

Peacebuilding - contributing to building a stable and peaceful society

Youth work training

The Training Unit has been developing and delivering accredited youth work training for young leaders, part time workers and volunteers since 1989. Over the years we have played a key role in designing and piloting  youth work training programmes to meet the developing needs of our sector. Working closely with our Sector Skills Council LLUK, the Youth Work Training Board, strategic and community based partners we strive to offer a comprehensive range of programmes that supports the development of the worker and the volunteer in  the delivery of quality youth work practice.

In the 1990’s we became the lead voluntary youth sector organisation licensed  by the Youth Work Training Board  for Northern Ireland to deliver  accredited youth work courses for the youth sector offering the OCR Certificate for Part time Youth Workers (NI) and the OCR Trainee Leaders Certificate alongside developing specialised programmes in youth work such as the  NOCN Level 3  Principles and Practice in Work with Young Women.

We now offer a full suite of training at NOCN Levels 1, 2 and 3 and City & Guilds NVQ Level 3 which includes initial and advance youth work training, specialised programmes to include Community Relations alongside the Level 3 Apprenticeship in Youth Work.

Over the years we have developed strong links with the University of Ulster and more recently Dundalk Institute of Technology to develop pathways and progression routes for young and emerging community leaders.

Supporting young community leaders

While we provide training opportunities for all workers and volunteers our key focus has been the development of young community leaders designing programmes which specifically encourage leadership within young people and pathways for their development. In 1989 we led the way  for youth leadership training by developing and delivering the Community Leadership Programme, a training and employment programme designed to develop the leadership potential of young community leaders alongside supporting capacity building within local disadvantaged communities. The Community Leadership Programme has now become the flagship Apprenticeship in Youth Work programme within the youth sector delivered over a wide geographically area in  Northern  Ireland and the border communities.

Supporting disadvantaged young people

In the 1980’s and  early 1990’s  the 'young people at work' residential programmes were the first opportunities for aspiring youth workers to  gain their first and memorable experiences in youth work. Targeted at young people on government training initiatives these programmes offered young people new learning experiences to support their personal and social development.  At this time YouthAction NI  identified the need for more comprehensive specialised programmes specifically for young unemployed people who had not achieved at school and who lacked basic skills and knowledge to progress into work. Our Positive Action programme of the 1990's funded through the first round of European Social Funds (ESF) sought to address some of the barriers young people face in entering the world of work. Using youth work approaches and methodologies in a non formal learning context the programme supported many young people to achieve qualifications and employment.

The Youth Achievement Awards scheme  the Reach Project are examples of current  models of practice that YouthAction NI  now offers to young people aged 14 - 25 years to help them develop new skills, get  formal accreditation for their achievements and support them towards employment or back into education. Increasingly there is a growing recognition of the  important role of youth work and its methodologies in supporting disadvantaged  young people to achieve the necessary, skills, confidence and qualifications to make positive changes to their lives.

YouthAction NI  uses its extensive experience to  delivering high quality training and accreditation opportunities for young people and youth workers. Our aim is to continue to build on that experience and to use our skills and expertise to ensure all our programmes continue to meet the needs of our young people and our work force.