Recent CYM graduate, Jamie Cutteridge gives a personal analysis of the different training options available for youth workers, and suggests ways to decide on the best route to take.
See the full list of training courses for 2012
Sometimes it pays to be pragmatic. If I can indulge myself by speaking personally, I was never particularly passionate about my youth work training; I somewhat fell into it. But I was, and still am, passionate about youth work, and passionate about being the best practitioner that I can be. And so, swallowing my pride, I came to the conclusion that I probably needed some sort of training, that I did not have all the answers and that I might be better prepared to bring hope to millions of teenagers if I had a JNC.
Youth work is in a fortunate place in this country, with such a variety of options for those seeking further training. A number of courses offer degrees structured to suit a variety of learning styles, mixing practical youth work with theoretical learning. On top of this, a number of courses specialise their training down a particular path, be it performing arts, music or evangelism, alongside theology and youth work training. Three years later and a degree in ‘Youth and Community work and Applied Theology’ to my name, here I am to offer some humble pointers as to which training direction may best suit what you are looking for.
The first questions that need to be asked of yourself are: what are you looking for? If you are going to invest in something for a few years of your life, it is worth thinking through what you want to get out of it:
• Are you passionately interested in the theory and theology that underpins youth work, or are you looking to train merely to improve what you do?
• What about you personally? Will you get frustrated by hours of lectures a week, or do you want to spend lengthy amounts of time grappling and debating the great issues of youth work?
• Are you looking for plenty of placement work, or do you want to hibernate in the classroom, library and lecture hall?
• Are you looking for some kind of university-type, campus experience, or are you wanting to invest in a community?
• How much time are you willing to invest in training? Are you willing to go for a full degree, or would a year be enough for you?
Rather than covering each possible set of answers to these questions, I’m going to split them down into three broad fields, with a few other suggestions which don’t fit in those neat boxes on the side.
The one year option?
Firstly, let’s look at the options if you aren’t looking for a full degree. There are a number of one year courses that offer training and foundations for youth work, some of which can offer placements, while others offer training for those seeking to serve in a specific area of youth ministry, from creative arts through to evangelism.
These courses provide a solid foundation for youth work, allowing you to continue in your work, or providing a starting point for further training. These could work for a variety of needs. Perhaps you’ve been in youth work for a while and want a top-up in what you feel you may already know. Perhaps you’re just starting out in youth work and want to get some practical guidance, or possibly you’re unsure if youth work is worth committing three years of training to.
On top of these, some courses offer a starting point for those without the necessary qualifications to embark on a full degree. If any of these things ring true, a one year option, with a foundational qualification at the end of it, may be the best route for you.
That’s not to say that there is a ‘cut and paste’ approach across all of these options. One person’s experience at Moorlands Theological College will be vastly different to one in a more specialised youth work setting at South West Youth Ministries. They also offer different outcomes. While Moorlands can serve as the foundation year of an Applied Theology (Youth and Community work) degree, SWYM offers CYM’s Engage qualification as part of its year. Oasis also offer a single-year foundation course that can operate as the first year of a Youth Work and Ministry degree.
Engage is a popular vocational option for those already in youth work. For those already involved in youth work, perhaps in a voluntary capacity but seeking to learn on the side, the course, run by the CYM, offers six units over six training days in a variety of nationwide locations. SWYM are starting a Youth Work Academy course that also runs on six days a year, but operates over two years rather than one. These less intensive courses are perhaps best suited to any volunteers looking to hone their skills.
Getting a Degree?
If you’re looking for a more comprehensive degree programme, this route offers two distinct options, with plenty of scope within them. These qualifications contain the nationally recognised JNC qualification alongside the degree.
At the most academic end of the spectrum is the option of a youth work and theology degree at a traditional university. While a number of these still exist, over the last few years funding for some of these courses has been cut. For the ones that remain, these offer the closest to a university experience, with students living on campus and mixing with students from a range of other degree courses. Claire Lane, a youth worker who transferred to such a course from CYM says that ‘the theology taught on such a degree is not as obviously associated with youth work, as it is done in contexts alongside theology students.’ Claire also says that students on a campus-based degree spend far less time on placements than those based outside of a campus. This would be ideal for those not wanting to get lost in the ‘Christian bubble’ that working in a church-based placement can create, offering all the upsides (and downsides) that university life offers. It would also suit those looking for more emphasis on teaching as opposed to handson experience. That’s not to say there is no youth work experience down this route, but it tends to come in large blocks, rather than the experience of living ‘on the ground’. If you’re looking for learning without the university life, Moorlands Theological College and Oak Hill College both offer degrees away from both a full-time placement and student unions.
Is a placement your priority?
The other alternative is a youth work degree with a larger chunk of time spent on placement. Popular options here, alongside others, are full-time courses run by Oasis and CYM. The usual format with these courses is that you will live away from your learning centre, and so a large chunk of your learning, and your forming as a youth worker, will come on the job. This also allows you to put into practice what you’re learning immediately, and gives real-life grounding for your reflections, thoughts and essays, of which there are many.
This seems as good a time as any to let you know that youth work is not a degree for people that don’t like writing. Yes it is less intensive in that sense than other degrees, and often less exam based, but the 30,000 word folder I gave in at the end of my first and second years was comprised of thoughts, reflections, ideas, sweat and caffeine. That’s not to say you need to be a natural academic to pass, but don’t go in thinking you’ll never need to write an essay again.
My experience of CYM was one of having most of what I believe de-constructed, before allowing it to be re-constructed, a not altogether pleasant experience, but one that has stood me in good stead.
One thing that shines through from all these courses, is the support of the learning community. This is worth enquiring about when considering the kind of experience you are hoping for. The process of journeying through three years with those doing a similar job to you in a wildly different context is a joy, and has left me with experiences and friends that (hopefully) will stick with me for life. I think we can all attest to the fact that unless you’re involved in youth work, it’s difficult to understand the mix of emotions it creates, hence peer support is invaluable. This is not distinct to this strand of training, and hopefully should transcend training and be vital to all our ministries and journeys.
The hope is that your study will combine the youth work theory and applied theology that you’re learning, rather than leaving them as two sets of abstract ideas. In my experience, over the course of three years your theory will grow to underpin your work, often without you realising it. Those I’ve spoken to who went on such a course were motivated by the desire to improve their youth work and they would all agree that the course had done that. Jimmy Dale, a recent CYM graduate and Centre Director of Newham YFC, said that the course had ‘shaped (his) youth work practice and theory as well as helping me to reach my full potential as a youth worker.’
If I was to speak from my own experience, I would agree with this assessment. I’m in no doubt (but the young people I work with might be) that I’m better at what I do now than I was three years ago. This would inevitably be a result of three years more experience, but my practise is now built upon a wider range of theory, a more substantial theology, and perhaps most importantly, is consistently refreshed by reflection. Crucial to my experience was journalling and reflecting, a process built into us early in the course, forcing us to constantly learn from what we were doing.
Vocational and Specialised Training
Away from a more traditional degree, there are routes that specialise in your giftings and passions. Genetik in Manchester combines youth work training with a heart for overt evangelism and is run by The Message Trust, who know a thing or two about that! Nexus and NGM offer combinations of youth work and theology alongside the opportunity to nurture giftings in music and wider creative arts respectively. Ultimately, you need to work out which of these options will suit you best. Is a lack of practical experience going to leave you itching to run a drop-in session or are you likely to be climbing the walls in an experience surrounded only by other Christians, youth workers, sandals and rainbow guitar straps? (You may think I’m exaggerating, but at least one person on my course fitted this cliché, you know who you are!)
In my experience, it’s rare to find a youth worker motivated by a desire to learn the intricacies of the ‘Every Child Matters’ framework (if you are out there, hats off to you, seriously). In reality, we are motivated by a desire to see Christ work in young people, to see teenagers reach their potential and to see God’s light shine in some fairly dark situations. For some reason, God chooses to use us to help this happen, and so it’s up to us to reach our full potential. Training is a great way to do that, and somewhere in the midst of all the options there will be one to suit you. So, stop. Pray about it. Reflect on it. Pray again. Stop reading this magazine. Stop it.
JAMIE CUTTERIDGE is a CYM graduate, youth worker and the Intern for Youthwork.
