Youth Work Courses Online

What is Youth Work?

Youth work is the supporting, educating and helping of young people in their social and educational development. Through encouraging positive changes and assisting young people with their lives, youth work plays a crucial role in the community. Youth work is often available in a variety of settings, including:

• Corrective and juvenile centres
• Community centres
• Schools
• Clinics
• Rehabilitation centres

Youth workers all have the same aim in their jobs: to improve the social and emotional development of young people in an informal educational setting. Through reinforcing positive values and decision-making, youth workers are very important in setting up children for their future. Many youth workers also deal with child protection and rehabilitation support, by being a reliable support for children from broken families and poor upbringings.

Youth Work in Australia

Youth work in Australia is a career pathway with long-lasting security and demand and is predicted to continuously hold strong growth for the future. New South Wales also provides the most youth work jobs in the country; with 32% of all workers in that state alone, followed by Victoria (25.6%) and Queensland (20%). Almost 60% of youth workers are female, with a majority of workers in this field aged 25 to 34 years. The most common youth worker qualifications are a Bachelor degree, followed by a Certificate IV, such as the Certificate IV in Youth Work.

Youth Work Jobs

There’s plenty of full-time youth work jobs and related positions available in Australia. They include:

• Community Services Officer
• Mental Health Counsellor
• Community Corrections Worker
• Welfare Support Worker
• Disability Service Worker
• Counsellor
• Rehabilitation Worker
• Child Services Officer
• Family Counsellor
• School Guidance Counsellor

Youth Work Qualifications

To become a youth worker in Australia, entry requirements for a role would be an Associate Degree, Advanced Diploma or a Diploma of youth work qualification, counselling or community services. You can also have completed at least 3 years of on-the-job training. A VET qualification, such as one of the many youth work courses at TAFE, is very common in this industry. Two in five workers have a VET qualification under an Advanced Diploma.

Most youth work courses will require work placement, which is an essential part of gaining the experience and knowledge required to give kids the very best support.

Get your career started and enrol in our youth work courses online today.