First youth workers conference at Unisa

Dr Mpho Dichaba, Prof Howard Sercombe and Dr Bernice Hlagala

The government of the Republic of South Africa (the Presidency) has joined forces with the Commonwealth Youth Programme – Regional Centre for Africa, University of South Africa and National Youth Development Agency to fast track the professionalization of youth development practice by organising an International Conference on the Professionalization of Youth Work in South Africa. The first Commonwealth Conference on Education and Training of Youth Workers in South Africa took place from 18 – 20 March 2013. The President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma attended the opening of the conference and spoke to a nearly full to capacity ZK Matthews Great Hall on 18 March 2013. He said that according to the 2011 Census report, one-third of our nation is under the age of 13, which makes us a nation with a future. This is why we need to invest in our youth to ensure sustainable development. It is also why it is important to have accessible and affordable education for the youth.

The opening of the conference kicked off with an address by Prof Howard Sercombe, University of Strathclyde, who said that young people who are growing up into adults can’t learn to do that from their peers as their peers have similar problems. Across Europe similar initiatives are being taken towards reaching a common understanding and code of ethics to professionalise the youth worker. This is a profession that is coming of age and is not an optional extra, but has become an essential. He emphasised that young people are not the problem; they are alive and will adapt to the world that is given to them. They become something good as they walk alongside people in the process of their becoming. Youth work provides such guidance and it needs to be articulated. Universities play a role in this because their job is to develop their nation. The process needs the support of government since the resources can’t come from the young people and young people deserve to be developed.

President Jacob Zuma and Prof MS Makhanya (Principal & Vice Chancellor of Unisa) listen attentively to a keynote speaker at the Commonwealth Conference on Education and Training of Youth Workers

“53 % of our people are under the age of 15, and with high unemployment rates for young people who are under the ages of 35, business cannot be as usual,” said Dr Bernice Hlagala, the Presidency. In her speech she highlighted the current dire statistics. She emphasised the lack of employment opportunities for the graduates that come out of their teaching and training programmes. This necessitates the creation of a more structured, recognised and professional status for youth workers in support of the young. “It is important that as a collective we aim to establish education and training in the youth work sector.  Young people need to be trained and educated for their future to take shape,” said Prof Makhanya, the Vice Chancellor and Principal of the University of South Africa. The conference created awareness of youth work practice worldwide. It also advocated for continued support of and commitment to the process of youth work professionalization. Speakers shared national experiences, particularly on the journey towards professionalization, the status of youth work in terms of professional association, code of ethics and access to professional training in youth work. It emphasised the necessity to

• develop feasible strategies to fast track the professionalization process
• facilitate initiation and/or strengthen national associations for youth workers at regional and national levels
• initiate establishment and strengthening of youth work associations nationally, regionally and globally
• advocate for increased collaboration among youth workers, academics and researchers in youth work

There was consensus at the end of the conference that a platform should be provided for teaching youth work as development training. The following was recommended:

• Education can be used as a platform for youth development. So, educational institutions, especially universities, should take the lead.
• Non-governmental organisations should continue with their mandate of developing youth.
• Youth worker professionalization is of great value to economic growth, regardless of the theories that pose a challenge to the nature of its being professionalised, whether the approach is bottom-up or top-down.
• Professionalising youth work requires an assessment of the situation where the education/training provider and state join hands together to create a curriculum informed by the country’s economic needs. Life experience should also count, regardless of previous exposure to academic levels.
• A youth worker is a multidisciplinary/inter-professional person and the word “specialisation” should be understood as an area of focus. Youth specialisation is a journey that has many dimensions.
• Young people, who are to be the consumers of the standardised curriculum, need to be considered so that the youth professionalization process benefits the country where is implemented.
• Consultation should take place with people of the land and with institutions of learning so that the youth, as consumers of programmes, may be subjected to standardised programmes done by the accredited bodies of the region.
• Conditions should be improved by youth workers being creative, and opinions gathered from the youth on how they think they can contribute to their communities.
• Youth workers should intervene in the processes of how the youth are able to function properly.
• Youth workers have to learn to integrate different youth into programmes so that they can be identified and helped, and actively engaged in the work that helps our national development.
  

  Presentation of conference outcomes

All in all, more clarity was gained on how to chart the way forward for incorporating professional youth workers into our society. A brave move was made towards implementing all the plans, with a code of ethics to be proclaimed, financial structures implemented, procedures to be developed, education, training and skill development programmes and accreditation to be put in place – action is what is needed now.