ADDITIONAL NOTES

Youthwork magazine has compiled this information with the help of David Howell, a consultant in youth work and ministry who runs the website cywt.org.uk which brings together details of the majority of courses available. We have attempted to ensure that all the details are accurate at the time of press, apologise for any courses missing, and advise you to consult the specific websites and organisations for more detailed information.

ACADEMIC LEVELS
For Higher Education courses delivered by UK Universities, and their partner organisations, the academic levels and their usual titles are:

Level 3 (Scotland Level 6)
Pre-degree year (equal to A2 level)
Level 4 (Scotland Level 7)
Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE)
Level 5 (Scotland Level 8 )
Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE)
Foundation Degree (FdA)
Level 6 (Scotland Level 10)
Honours Degree (BA, BSc or BTh)
Level 7 (Scotland Level 11)
Masters degree (MA or MSc)
Level 8 (Scotland Level 12)
Doctorate

The normal expectation - except for Level 8 - is that to achieve a qualification at one of the levels, you will need one year of full-time academic work. Embarking on an undergraduate degree which would lead to a BA Honours degree will normally require three years full-time or six years part-time study. A postgraduate qualification such as a Master of Arts will require a minimum of one year of full-time study or two/three years of part-time study.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION
If you want to gain the JNC Professional Grade – the recognised standard for Youth & Community Work in England – you will have to take either a three year full-time Honours degree course (or equivalent part-time) or take one of the postgraduate courses (Postgraduate Diploma or Masters).

JNC
The main professional qualification in youth work is the JNC Professional Grade. JNC stands for the “Joint Negotiating Committee for Youth and Community Work” and there are JNC or equivalent committees in each of the four nations of the UK which both set terms and conditions for youth work, and approve training courses. Those terms and conditions are not mandatory for employers in the voluntary sector, but many choose to use them as they represent good practice. More details can be found on the National Youth Agency’s website (www.nya.org.uk).

CAMPUS-BASED or PLACEMENT-BASED
Many of the programmes refer to placements. For courses where students are campus-based, the placements are usually in blocks through the course. Many colleges now have placement-based students. This normally means that the student will live at or near a youth work placement (church, group of churches, Christian agency etc.) and will undertake youth work there and travel in to the college for lectures etc. Placement learning is a key element of all youth work courses, enabling competencies to be developed through working with young people.

COST PER YEAR
This is the cost, normally for a full-time course, for the year commencing September 2013 for a student who is a UK/EU national. Prices change each year and you would need to contact the organisation concerned for full details of the fees. Prices for International Students also vary and, in general are higher. International Students will require a Tier 4 Visa through the UK Border Agency.

Courses which are run in collaboration with a University are normally eligible for Student Loan Funding (separate arrangements are in place for students normally resident in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland – please check with the appropriate agency). Again, please contact the college/training agency for more information.