Training and Workforce Development
These pages contain useful resources to support you in developing your workforce, including information about relevant national occupational standards, accreditation routes, analysing training needs and sources of training.
Youth Access resources:
The Youth Advice Workforce: Now and in the Future (8 pages)
By Youth Access, September 2009
Description: Read why the time is right for a qualification giving youth advisers recognition and status.
External resources:
The first ever qualification in providing legal advice to young people - 'Providing initial advice to young people on their rights under law.' This was developed by Youth Access alongside our partners in the advice sector and Skills for Justice. This unit is now part of the Vulnerable Young People qualifications awarded by ABC.
Contact ABC: Sue Langton, Qualifications Development Manager, ABC Awards, 01257 244922
Qualifications framework for legal advice
New Qualification and Credit Framework for Legal advice have been approved. These QCF units are based on the 2009 version of the National Occupational Standards for Legal Advice . These include a level 4 Diploma in Providing initial advice to young people on their rights under the law as well as a level 5 Award including Providing specialist advice to young people on their rights under the law.
NCVYS Information sheets
NCVYS has produced 7 new career information sheets for individuals interested in paid or voluntary work connected to working with young people in the voluntary sector.
Each sheet covers areas such as what it is like to be in the role, the work, routes in, qualifications and training.
They cover: Youth Advice Worker; Young People's Housing Support Worker; Youth Worker; Youth Volunteer Co-ordinator; Youth Health Worker; Youth Participation Worker; Youth Sports Worker;
Read the Youth Advice Worker leaflet
A Manager's Toolkit: How to develop your Workforce
This toolkit* explores a number of workforce development Issues facing the advice sector, i.e: skills gap and shortages; recruitment and retention difficulties; barriers to accessing training and education; and lack of career progression in parts of the sector. In particular it looks at the need for strategic organisational planning, including carrying out regular staff and organisational Training Needs Analyses as a way of addressing workforce issues. It lists a number of different (and often cheaper) alternatives to traditional training e.g. mentoring, coaching and shadowing. *produced by Advice UK for the Working Together for Advice Consortium
National Occupational Standards
What are National Occupational Standards?
National Occupational Standards specify the standards of performance that staff are expected to achieve in their work, and the knowledge and skills they need to perform effectively. They have been agreed by all interests in the sector and approved by the education regulatory bodies of all four countries in the UK.
National Occupational Standards cover client-facing activities as well as managerial, support and specialist functions. They can be used for a wide range of purposes to support individual and organisational development and quality assurance at all levels in the organisation.
Putting National Occupational Standards to Work
Link to Skills for Justice website showing how NOS can be used effectively in real workplace situations.
115 uses of National Occupation Standards
NOS can be used in a number of different ways, e.g. organisational development, regulating professional and occupational qualifications, and delivering and evaluating learning programmes.
Counselling
The National Occupational Standards for Counselling, 2007
Workforce
Legal Advice Sector Workforce Survey
An analysis of the findings of a detailed survey looking at various workforce issues concerning Youth advice workers.
Workforce Development Self-Assessment Framework
This is a new publication that encompasses the elements of effective workforce development planning. It guides an organisation through a process of developing a policy framework. Closely linked to the NYA Quality Mark, a management tool to support organisational development and improvement of quality management systems within integrated youth support services.
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