blog.gov.je
We recently caught up with Joshua Twohig-Jones about his role as a Youth Worker, his Jersey Youth Service journey and what the service had planned for National Youth Work Week 2024.
Can you tell us how you got involved with Youth Work?
As a teenager I attend St Peter’s Youth Club on a Wednesday night for their Intermediate session. After building great relationships with my Youth Workers, I started attending more regularly and feeling more comfortable bringing friends along with me. At the age of 15 I was asked if I wanted to do my Young Worker training and volunteer my time at the Juniors’ session on a Friday. Working with my friends, other Youth Workers and in a team to support other young people was a great feeling and gave me a purpose. When I turned 18, I applied to be a Sessional Youth Worker at St Lawrence Youth Club which began a two-year journey across the service working for various youth clubs.
What does it mean to be a Youth Worker and why did you choose to become one?
As the Lead Youth Worker for St Mary’s Youth Club, I run three sessions a week across three different age groups, managing a fantastic staff team who support the running of sessions, facilitating informal learning, encouraging and empowering young people to develop new skills, form new friendships and help provide young people with a safe space where they can be themselves and socialise with their friends.
When attending St Peter’s Youth Club as a young person, my Youth Workers at the time made me feel like I belonged and that youth clubs could be a safe space. The opportunities I was offered are some of my most cherished memories, and I will forever be grateful. I’ve only ever aspired to make other young people feel the same way my Youth Workers made me feel.
What impact has being involved with the Jersey Youth Service had on your personal skills and development?
Since being involved with the Jersey Youth Service, I have developed many skills that are in line with the values of youth work. I really value reflection and being a reflective person and professional. Being able to communicate effectively through efficient teamwork, listening skills and empowering others. Youth work has helped me grow into a much more patient and empathetic person, valuing others and encouraging optimism whilst remaining realistic and practical.
I’m currently studying at Level 6 in my third year of my Youth & Community Work degree with Wrexham University. Through this period of study, I’ve developed my knowledge of youth work theory, which has led me to gain a greater understanding of youth work values and principles and utilise the National Occupational Standards of youth work to improve my practice for the benefit of others as well as myself.
What are the most important values needed to be a successful youth worker?
Compassion is key, being able to work with others without judgement, taking young people where they are at, accepting them for who they are despite their challenges in life, upbringing and setbacks to help support them to become the best versions of themselves and positively contribute to our society and our Island.
I believe this comes through having a strong sense of self, being a reflective person who is able to acknowledge work-ons and encourage or utilise strengths and skills to best influence both colleagues and young people.
It’s so important to be able to work with others. Youth work is often only a piece of the puzzle when supporting young people, so having the drive to work effectively in partnership with other colleagues across CYPES and wider agencies to support young people the best we can is vital.
Who has inspired you within the Jersey Youth Service?
Working in the Jersey Youth Service has provided me with inspiration in bucketloads. Getting to work with different Youth Workers each week is one of the main selling points for working with the Jersey Youth Service. Being around likeminded, driven professions who value the work we do, have shared goals and aspirations for the future of the service and the development of our young people is inspirational in itself.
As the youngest Lead Youth Worker, I’ve been lucky enough to have experienced Youth Workers to look up to throughout my career. I’ve worked alongside my good friend and colleague Stacy Benstead in various roles over the past five years and is someone who I’ve looked up to and often gone to for fantastic advice and reassurance in this everchanging profession.
John Cornwall, a well-respected, experienced Youth Worker within the Jersey Youth Service has been instrumental in my development since taking over St Mary’s Youth Club, selflessly sharing his wisdom and experience.
Having settled into my role, I am now more than ever inspired by the fantastic young worker team who I’ve had the privilege of working with over the past three years as well as some of my peers, Jamie Gray, Georgia Le Broc and Lyndsey Capern to name a few whose passion and determination to grow as professionals inspires me every day.
Which other Youth Projects have you been involved with?
Between 2019 and 2020, I worked in various Youth Clubs around the Island to gain valuable experience learning from different Youth Workers. From St Ouen’s to Gorey, Move On to Inclusion Short Breaks, I’ve been so lucky to have had the experiences I’ve had and met the people I’ve learned so much from.
Before I started working at St Mary’s Youth Club full-time, I was the Assistant Youth Worker at the Youth Enquiry Service Project in town providing support to young people in the Information, Advice and Counselling drop-in, undertaking my Level 2 and 3 counselling qualifications alongside this.
I moved to the Outdoor Learning Team where I worked alongside Stacy Benstead and Chris Scott, developed my outdoor learning skills in the form of high roping, forest school, beach surf lifeguard and general skills working with young people in the outdoors. I thoroughly enjoyed this and learned so much from it.
National Youth Work Week took place from 4 to 10 November. What is this week about and how did the Jersey Youth Service mark the event?
National Youth Work Week is an annual celebration held in November which focusses on the values of youth work, its impact on young people and the wider community as well as acknowledging what the profession offers us as Youth Workers, from volunteers to the Principal Youth Officers. It is a time to promote and celebrate, to raise awareness of the oft-overlooked intricacies of the profession as well as the key and bolder youth work values and principles.
This year, the Jersey Youth Service was out and about within the community promoting the service as well as youth work in general through public stalls at both the Co-op and NatWest. There were also celebrations, parties and unique pieces of work within individual youth clubs and projects around the Island. Hopefully, the week has encouraged others to get involved through volunteering and sessional opportunities in the future to help us both maintain and grow our fantastic service.
How were you involved with National Youth Work Week?
I worked behind the scenes with colleagues to put together our display board for the community stalls, collating quotes and pictures and being creative with promotion.
Additionally, I also supported the Youth Advisory Group at St Mary’s Youth Club who were busy getting ready to launch our new logo competition, which was launched during Youth Work Week. This will encourage our members to think about who we are as a Youth Club, our identity, values and purpose with the intention of producing a new logo to represent us.
What would you say to anyone wanting to get involved with youth work?
I’d definitely encourage anyone who wants to get involved with the Jersey Youth Service to contact a youth worker, ask questions and find out more from those of us who do it. Youth work is such a diverse career and profession, and it offers so much to young people and the wider community. There is scope to support various youth clubs and projects with a variety of experiences and opportunities to get to work alongside and with many different people.
No day is ever the same when you’re a Youth Worker and there are various entry points depending on youth skillset, experience and preference, from volunteering to paid positions such as Sessional Youth Workers supporting the running of sessions and Lead Youth Workers, Senior Youth Workers and Team Leaders.
What impact has the Jersey Youth Service had on your life and why do you think the organisation is so important for young people in Jersey?
The Jersey Youth Service has provided me with a career that I can be proud of and has led me to some of my most memorable experiences working with colleagues who I now call great friends.
It’s been a consistent presence in my life and has provided me with plenty of learning opportunities and chances to grow and develop. I can see first hand the positive impact the Jersey Youth Service has on the young people of our Island as well as their families and the wider community, through our events, residentials, and daily sessions and engagements.
For many young people, Youth Club is the only place they feel they can truly be themselves outside the pressures of education and school, home life and personal struggles. Youth Workers can be reliable, hopeful and compassionate people in the lives of our young Islanders, which I’m sure we can all agree is very important.
Thank you for taking the time to speak to us, Josh!