Skills and Education Group Awards has worked with the National Youth Agency (NYA) and other awarding organisations to develop a new Level 4 Youth Work qualification – the Level 4 Certificate in Professional Development (Youth Work).

Following a launch event in Manchester on 12 January 2023, registrations for the qualification will open on 1 February 2023. The qualification is endorsed by the NYA and is supported by Education Training Standards (ETS) England and ETS Wales.

Developed by organisations from across the country

The launch event for the new Level 4 Youth Work qualification, held by the NYA, was attended by representatives from a variety of Youth Work organisations and related professional bodies.

Kevin Jones, Head of Workforce and Professional Development at the NYA, gave an overview of the purpose and audience of the qualification. In addition, Sally Carr MBE, Northwest Director at StreetGames UK, and Graeme Tiffany, independent consultant in Youth Work, spoke about their contributions to writing the units for the qualification.

Representatives from Skills and Education Group Awards were also in attendance. Paul Eeles, Chief Executive, spoke about the development of the qualification and how it will support the Youth Work sector. Darren Lake, Qualifications Manager for the Level 4 Certificate in Professional Development (Youth Work), and Peter Summers, Relationship Manager, also attended. Darren said:

Purpose of the new Level 4 Youth Work qualification

The qualification focuses on the importance of professional development and forging effective relationships in Youth Work.

It is designed for those engaged directly in Youth Work or those involved through multi-agency work, such as social workers, police officers, emergency services workers, teachers and those who work within the youth service.

All Youth Workers must have a Level 3 qualification in order to work in the profession. The new qualification meets a gap in the market, as it is the first Level 4 Youth Work qualification to be developed. It provides continued professional development (CPD) for existing Youth Workers, giving them a way to develop their skills and stand out from others in the profession.

The qualification is highly flexible, with a wide variety of optional units enabling organisations to tailor it to the needs of their learners. The units cover mental health and wellbeing in Youth Work, strength-based approaches to Youth Work practice, therapeutic Youth Work and much more.

Why deliver this qualification with Skills and Education Group Awards?

Skills and Education Group Awards specialises in Youth Work qualifications and currently holds over 90% of the market share for this sector.

Our suite of Youth and Community qualifications includes 16 qualifications from Levels 1-3 – including the essential Level 3 qualifications needed to be a Youth Worker. The new Level 4 Youth Work qualification is ideal for training providers who already deliver Youth Work qualifications.

Here’s what our Youth Work Centres think about working with us:

“Kinetic Youth are proud to collaborate with Skills and Education Group Awards…we look forward to developing new and exciting ways to expand this relationship and create more opportunities for young people and colleagues in the sector.”

You can read more feedback from our Youth Work Centres here.

Find out more about the new Level 4 Youth Work qualification

You can find out more about the Level 4 Certificate in Professional Development (Youth Work) on our dedicated qualification page. Here, you can find a range of supporting resources, including the Qualification Guide.

If you are interested in delivering this qualification, please get in touch with our Relationship Managers, who will get you started in no time.