Youth work is primarily focused on the growth and development of youth. Given the specialised nature of the job, the youth worker profession in Singapore needs to be further strengthened and developed so as to meet the changing needs of our youths. With an increasing complexity of the nature of stressors faced by Singaporean youths, there is a need to build the capabilities of the youth workers to effectively reach out, engage and work with youths with complex issues. Moreover, there are currently no guidelines to determine the training requirements and employment of youth workers in Singapore. In addition, the term youth worker is also used broadly in different organisations.

The National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and the National Youth Council (NYC) decided that it was timely for the sector to develop a set of core competencies for youth workers and volunteer youth workers to provide a reference point for capability development of this group of personnel and volunteers.

Adopting a bottom-up approach, a Workgroup on Core Competencies for Youth Workers and Volunteer Youth Workers was thus formed in April 2005. Co-chaired by NCSS and NYC, the workgroup also comprised representatives from key stakeholders in the youth sector.

The objectives of the workgroup were as follows:

a) To understand the current scene and needs of youth workers and volunteer youth workers; and

b) To identify core competencies for youth workers and volunteer youth workers.

With inputs from key players and a survey conducted within the youth sector, the workgroup made recommendations on how to enhance the professionalism and competencies of youth workers and volunteers. The full report and recommendations, as well as simple Core Competency Assessment Toolkits for Youth Workers and Volunteer Youth Workers can be found below: