The NYA conducted a survey of around 1000 youth workers in late 2023 and undertook focus groups to understand the current composition of the workforce, the motivations for pursuing a career in youth work and attitudes towards profession development to provide qualitative and quantitative data for policymakers and funders.
Austerity cuts to Local Authority since 2019 amounting to a real terms loss of 70 per cent of funding for youth services. This has resulted in the voluntary, charity and faith sectors disproportionately delivering support, with provision focusing on targeted support and heavily reliant on short term grant funding.
The first Workforce Survey reveals that whilst those working in the sector are deeply committed to working with young people, many enter the profession as volunteers and tend not to pursue qualifications until much later in their career, when they have secured a more permanent role.
The Workforce Survey, together with the Youth Sector Census and Higher Education Institution (HEI) Annual Monitoring Survey provides deeper insight into the state of the youth sector than was previously available.
