YOUTHFEST2022 and COMMUNITY-BASED YOUTH WORK TRAINING PILOT REPORT LAUNCH

YouthFest2022 will take place in Gwaun Cae Gurwen, Upper Amman Valley, on Saturday 5^th March 2022, with Jeremy Miles, Minister for Education and Welsh Language and the Mayor and Youth Mayor of Neath Port Talbot in Attendance. YouthFest will be a feast of activities – supported by many local organisations, a chance for young people to have fun, learn, gain information and support. The event has been organised by the Youth Trainees that have been involved in a groundbreaking Community-Based Youth Work Training Pilot with Maerdy Youth a part of Canolfan Maerdy and also supported by Adult Learning Wales and Neath Port Talbot Youth Services. YouthFest will see the launch of the Report on the Pilot, outlining the activity, results and recommendations from the work relevant to Local Authorities and Welsh Government Policy Makers.

The Community-Based Youth Work Training Pilot was developed as a response to a significant lack of qualified Youth Workers throughout Wales, as testified by NPT Youth Service. This lack has led to significant gaps in youth provision within the local area and further afield, with rural Wales being particularly impacted. Acting as a trial for the potential development of similar apprenticeship schemes elsewhere, the pilot aimed to provide locally identified trainees with an initial qualification in youth work alongside practical, community-based experience within established projects. Although it has focused on the Upper Amman and Twrch Valleys, its findings are intended to influence similar projects elsewhere in the future; ultimately, a successful Community-Based Youth Work Apprenticeship Scheme could address the gaps in existing youth provision by developing a new generation of qualified Youth Workers, bolstering youth work support and increasing provisions for young people in our communities.

Canolfan Maerdy could not appoint qualified Youth Workers to meet the needs in the valley.

The project was, therefore, initially conceived in response to a lack of qualified youth workers within the borough and beyond, and it has demonstrated great potential in addressing this issue. Three of the four trainees are now expressing a desire to progress their training to a Level 2 qualification in order to pursue careers in Youth and Community Work. The pilot succeeded in its aims to support individuals in overcoming barriers to employment. In addition to their successful completion of an initial qualification in Youth Work, they have developed valuable workplace skills such as organisation, creative thinking and cooperation. All four have now taken ownership over the youth club- they are responsible for planning its activities and are capable of running each session with only minimal support.

Heledd Owen the Youth Leader was clear that “YouthFest clearly demonstrates the abilities of the trainees. They bid for the funds and have set up and will facilitate all of the activities. They really wanted to do and have achieved something for young people in our communities who have not seen much in their communities recently and can not travel easily to attend events elsewhere.”

Cllr Sonia Reynolds Chair of Canolfan Maerdy and one of the initiators of the project stated “We are so very proud of our youth trainees. They have undertaken a very intense course, overcoming barriers and covid difficulties as they progressed”. It is the intention that the Pilot of Community-based Youth Work training will provide a clear model for engaging local young people and perhaps older trainees within their communities, increasing the supply of qualified youth workers and promoting more activity and greater resilience in our young people and communities. Cllr Reynolds Said “It is our intention to inform the consideration by Welsh Government of the establishment of Youth and Community Work Apprenticeship schemes that will allow community based youth providers and Local Authority Youth Services to employ youth workers as apprentices, to take forward their higher level qualifications. We seek to contribute to a true renaissance of youth and community work across our communities promoting wellbeing and increased entrepreneurial activity amongst other benefits.”