When I took a course in Youth and Community Studies, one of the first ways that pupils pigeonholed each other was to identify who came from the state sector and who came from the voluntary sector. A few days into the course there was much confessing of assumptions and misunderstandings from both sides. People admitted to many broken preconceptions. I’d had my own. I’d felt that state youth work was dry, bureaucratic and unadventurous. Some people in state youth work confessed to fears that youth workers in the voluntary sector were untrained enthusiasts or religious fanatics. Some people confessed to feeling that statutory youth work had all the good resources, while the voluntary sector existed on hand-me-downs.
There is often a feeling among youth workers that the two sectors are miles apart in terms of ethos, training, resources, and working practices. The reality is that there is a borrowing of ideas and practices from both sides of the divide – and there always has been. There has been a crossover between the two sectors for the whole history of youth work.
Both statutory and voluntary youth work can prosper from partnership working but there are also warnings from history that need to be heeded. A look at the history of youth work reveals that this time can be seen as an opportunity, but there are also threats. Neither side should start to mirror the other – losing their focus in order to appeal to the other. Both sides have unique strengths which need to be preserved. As people talk more and more about partnership possibilities, it is important to consider the strengths and weaknesses of both sectors and value the things which make each unique.
There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world of youth work right now. Much of the talk in state youth work is about funding cuts and job losses. There are holes in current youth provision which are set to get bigger. Many projects funded in boom times don’t have the money or staff to continue. The Government hopes that many of these gaps will be filled by The Big Society. David Cameron has used this phrase consistently, describing a reduction in the role of government intervention in people’s lives, and an increase in people helping one another from simple goodwill. Cameron says ‘In the fight against poverty, inequality, social breakdown and injustice I want to move from state action to social action’ (Davies, B. From Voluntaryism to Welfare State). That goodwill is out there, and always has been. For as long as the label ‘youth work’ has existed there have been volunteers and a voluntary sector which has been as least as active, and often more active, than the statutory sector.
What is needed in these tough times is genuine partnership between the voluntary and statutory sector. I have had various conversations with people from the Youth Service these past weeks and there is much talk of projects which are planned for but which won’t be able to go-ahead without voluntary help. There is a very real and very urgent need for both the statutory and voluntary sector to find ways to work together. But is genuine partnership possible?
