Youth information and counselling services play a crucial role in young people’s transition to adulthood. While the profession is well organised and looks back on a respectable history, defining who a youth information worker is or what competences they have to possess is far from being unanimously established. This is why Eurodesk and ERYICA have decided to create YouthInfoComp – The Youth Information Worker Competence Framework, the first of its kind in Europe and a strong reference for all countries willing to give recognition to the profession.
The YouthInfoComp has been produced at a time when Europe and the world is responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the crisis exacerbated political, economic and social issues and highlighted the importance of personal well-being, resilience and our ability to adapt to change. This framework sets out to ensure that youth information professionals possess the necessary competences to support young people and provide quality services in this endeavour and beyond. This will lead to increased quality, a greater understanding and visibility among users, policy-makers and stakeholders, and the creation of a community of actors at European level.
The framework offers a shared reference tool for describing the competences (knowledge, skills and attitudes) required by youth information workers, or any youth work professionals delivering youth information. It comprises three competence areas and twelve competences with their specific set of indicators.
Part 1 of this publication describes the background to this project and the nature of youth information work in Europe.
Part 2 sets out the structure and content of YouthInfoComp.
Here you can access:
- The publication: YouthInfoComp: Youth Information Worker Competence Framework
- Factsheet for youth information workers
- Factsheet for stakeholders
To support this work, Eurodesk and ERYICA have collaborated with youth information workers and stakeholders from the youth sector across the EU, a special thanks goes out to them!
