Young people are helping to train volunteer youth workers employed by the Department of Education and Children.
The Department’s Youth Service runs a year-long youth worker training programme that is accredited by the Open College Network (OCN).
The Department has some 118 youth workers manning its clubs and projects, which are attended by more than 3,000 young people.
Participation in the training is compulsory for new recruits but, because it offers recognised accreditation, some longer serving staff have signed up to it, too.
Early in their training, those on the programme meet young people, who tell them what attributes they feel youth workers should have and what the Youth Service should offer.
The most recent session took place over a day at Pulrose Youth Centre and was attended by nine trainees and six young people, Siobhan Dooley, Sophie Handley, Demi Leigh Roberts, Ryan and Carl McCabe and Joseph Kane.
All six regularly attend youth club on a Friday night. Joseph, 12, said, "It felt really cool for the youth workers to ask us how they should do things."
Siobhan, also 12, added, "I think youth workers should ask the kids how to run youth clubs because it’s for us anyway."
Senior Youth Officer Ken Callister said, "This training is a big step toward recognising that youth work has a set of skills that can be learned and developed.
"It is important to train youth workers, not simply because looking after groups of young people is a huge responsibility but also because we need our staff to become confident in their ability to take young people on a life-changing adventure.
"Young people have an important part to play in the training programme. Their views on what makes a good youth worker and what makes a good youth work session are taken very seriously.
"After all, if we don’t get it right, young people will not attend. Who better to tell us what we need to be doing than the young people themselves?
"Following on from the session with the young people, the youth workers complete a series of practical tasks and learn about the policies and procedures they are expected to follow," said Ken.
The Youth Service is an accredited centre for the OCN and offers a wide range of courses to staff and young people.
Peer mentors from Queen Elizabeth II High School and young people who participate in the Youth Service’s Soundcheck project are among those who have received nationally recognised qualifications via the OCN.
There is a rolling programme of training for volunteer youth workers, with three start dates a year, and around 30 recruits a year are expected to gain the OCN qualification, Ken said.
