Have your say and shape the new programme to develop the youth workforce

The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) is holding eight regional consultation events and an online consultation to shape the new £25milion Government programme to develop the young people’s workforce. The programme, managed by the Children's Workforce Network and led by CWDC, covers the young people's workforce aspects of 'Aiming High for Young People'.

The aim of the programme is to strengthen leadership and management of the young people’s workforce through the provision of training programmes for up to 300 strategic leaders, 5,000 front line managers and 150 emerging leaders. The new programme also aims to build capacity in the third sector, which includes work exploring the feasibility of an accreditation system for the voluntary youth workforce. The third area that the programme will work on is developing a common platform of skills and competences for the workforce, which includes development of the Youth Professional Status (YPS) and a graduate recruitment scheme to identify and train individuals of a high calibre who may not have considered a career in the youth workforce.

CWDC want to hear from employers and others in the sector to shape the training and development programme. The dates and agenda for each of the regional consultation events can be found here. The online consultation can be found here.

CWDC are also developing an online game for young people to expand their knowledge of the children’s workforce. Children and young people were involved in the development of the game through workshops. Working Together will be launched in June on the DirectgovKids website here.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families asked the Children’s Workforce Network (CWN) to develop a programme of workforce development to deliver its 10-year strategy: Aiming High for Young People. CWN set up a Youth Workforce Reform Programme Board in partnership with the CWDC to deliver the programme over the next three years. The programme board includes representatives from the Association of Directors of Children's Services, Creative & Cultural Skills, General Teaching Council for England, Lifelong Learning UK, National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, National Youth Agency, Skills Active, Skills for Health, Skills for Justice and the Training and Development Agency for Schools.