Youth workers, educators and a representative of the Commonwealth Youth Program are in a three day consultation. And they're not just talking shop; they're coming up with what are called competency standards for persons working with youth. This means that the old way of doing things where one only needed to have an interest in working with youths will be thrown out and a new system will be put in place which will demand that youth workers must be accredited. According to Director of Youth for the Future Linsford Castillo, it's a bold move but it will pay off with enhanced services delivered to youths across the Caribbean region.
Linsford Castillo, Director - YFF
"We are looking at the whole issue of competency standards for youth work. We are in the process partnering with the Commonwealth Youth Program Caribbean Center or the CYPCC which is based in Guyana and we have an official from the Guyana office with us for the next three days looking at the competency standards and consulting various stakeholders as it relates to the whole issue of youth development and youths in development.
The whole issue of competency standards or occupational standards is that we are trying to professionalize youth work where presently we have an issue where if you want to be a youth worker, you just have to love working with young people and that qualifies you or makes you fit to do youth work as opposed to if you want to be a nurse there are certain standards you have to meet to be a nurse. If you want to be a teacher there are certain standards or criteria that you have to meet to be able to be a teacher, a doctor, or any other occupation. We are saying that it is time to treat youth work and put the necessary standards as it relates to youth work and that is basically what we're trying to look at in this particular session.
We are trying to set the standards so that we could deliver the right services to young persons as opposed to having just the ad hoc approach or simply the love for doing youth work. We are saying that at the end of the day, of this long process, it will help those who would want to remain in this particular profession and at the same time raise a standard of what we are trying to do overall in terms of youth development."
Similar consultations are taking place throughout the Caribbean region and, like all things Caribbean, it is expected that the process will be slow in implementation.
