How to become a youth work professional
Official title: Youth work professionals
Also called: Youth worker, Senior youth worker, Youth support worker, Youth worker in charge, Youth offending officer, Professional youth worker, Youth and community worker, Youth offending team officer
Youth work professionals look after the welfare and support the development of young people.
Main tasks
- Provides activities to assist young people develop and fulfil their potential as individuals and within the community
- Develops relationships with and provides guidance to young people
- Advises and supports young people experiencing stress or crisis
- Mentors and counsels young people with mental health problems
- Manages volunteers and part-time workers, and liaises with other relevant professionals
- Keeps records and controls budgets
How to become one
Professional youth workers require an accredited qualification at degree level, recognised by the National Youth Agency. Experience working with young people may also be useful. Background checks including a DBS check are likely to be required.
Ways in
- University: Social Work & Community degrees, Offered by 14 universities in the UK
Pay · Outlook
- Median full-time pay: £36,620 a year
Related jobs
Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz
Questions people ask
How do I become a youth work professional?
Professional youth workers require an accredited qualification at degree level, recognised by the National Youth Agency. Experience working with young people may also be useful. Background checks including a DBS check are likely to be required.
How much does a youth work professional earn in the UK?
Median full-time pay is £36,620 a year (Office for National Statistics).
Do you need a degree to become a youth work professional?
Not always. 58% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Social Work & Community degrees.
Sources
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.