If you want to become a gangs and youth violence specialist, this article is for you!
If you know of us already, you’ll know that we offer a chance for people to gain a qualification in Gangs and Youth Violence.
And if you don’t know us, first of all, where have you have been?? Secondly, welcome! You will find out everything you need to know about us and our most popular course.
What is the Gangs and Youth Violence Course?
To help tackle gang crime and serious youth violence, we provide mentoring and classes in schools, as well as hosting community youth events. We also provided educational courses for adults interested in becoming a qualified gangs and youth violence specialist and work with marginalised young people.
The course is designed to equip all the participants with the updated specialist knowledge, industry insights, skills and the mindset needed to be an impactful and professional youth worker.
About the course?
The ‘Working with Gangs and Youth Violence’ course is OCN Level 3 and can be taken in two ways.
1. Blended learning (28 credits)
2. Distance learning (10 credits)
The Blended Learning Certificate Qualification can be completed within 30 weeks. The only entry requirements are that:
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You must be over 18
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You must show a keen interest in working with young people; particularly those who are impacted by gangs and youth violence
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You must be able to study at level 3 (equivalent to an A-level)
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You must be able to attend 3-hour weekly online classes, which typically run every Wednesday or Thursday Between 4 – 7 pm.
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You will be studying in an online classroom environment with lecturers and other students. Our next course is due to start 28th April 2022. (Contact us for discounts and payment plans)
The Award Qualification can be completed within 12 to 24 weeks (depending on your own study schedule). The Award Qualification is suitable for people who:
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Already have experience in working with young people
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Hold a level 3 or higher education qualification and/or have some understanding but want to specialise to improve their understanding and effectiveness in their professional role.
This course is perfect for busy professionals, who have limited time and/or control of their daily schedules because there are no specific timetables, which gives you the freedom to study when and how you want.
Why was the course created?
The course was created to support practitioners with the knowledge, skills and core competencies they needed to be able to effectively respond to serious youth violence in their various localities.
The course was developed as part of a European-based programme, where various countries were encountering issues with serious youth violence. The result was the development of this qualification, which over the last 10 years has gone through a number of evolutions to get to the courses we have on offer today.
What will I learn in this course?
There are 8 Units you will learn within the Gangs and Youth Violence Course.
1, Youth Marginalisation and its Impact on Communities. (3 Credits) —This unit is about all the society, social pressures and factors as to how young people become isolated and involved in gang crime and youth violence.
2, Mental Health and Working with Youth Violence. (4 Credits) – This unit is about psychological factors, trauma, mental health impacted by gangs and criminal groups. We also look at the perspective from a practitioner’s point of view and how to look after your mental health while working with young people.
3, Interpersonal Communication Skills in Complex Youth Environments. (3 Credits) – In this unit we look more deeply into social factors and what drives children to get into crime. For example, we look at father absence, the young person’s need to belong, connection to the community, social media impact and how the internet shapes their identity.
4. Safe Working with Young People at risk. (3 Credits) – This unit is about developing your skill sets. We look at interpersonal communities, semiotics, communication skills, emotional intelligence, linguistic skills, and how to read others effectively while engaging with young people.
5. Social Factors that contribute to the development of violent youth and gang impacted environments. (5 Credits) – This unit is about safe-working. Learning how to set boundaries and keeping yourself safe to enable you to be effective but not in harm’s way.
6. Social Psychological Perspectives for working in Violent Youth and Gang- Impacted Environments. (5 Credits) – This unit is about the Social psychological perspectives and the theories around our work.
7. National Policy Framework for Working with Youth Violence and Groups. (4 Credits) – This Unit is about National policies and how the government responds to funding and distributing organisations. And how we can change the system fundamentally.
8. Exit Strategies from Gangs. (2 credits) – This unit is about exit strategies and different examples of modules that work in helping young people exit gangs. It is also about learning how to get young people to a point of leaving because not everyone is going to want to live the lifestyle, so how do you examine the situation and be more effective. We also teach you how to develop your own exit plan.
How is it marked and what qualification will I get?
The course delivers a qualification from Aim formerly known as OCN, which is a Level 3 Certificate or Award in working with Gangs and Youth violence. The certificate carries 28 credits and the award carries up to 14 credits. Like most educational centres, you will be assessed via workbooks, quizzes and assessments on our online portal.
Who is it for?
This course is suitable for frontline practitioners working at a grass root level with young people at risk or individuals actively involved in gangs. It is also suitable for senior managers and leaders. You’ll see from the testimonials below that we’ve had everyone from Mental health nurses wanting to better understand and assist patients, to people working in supported accommodation. The list below is by no means exhaustive.
This course is well suited to:
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Health professionals
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Management teams
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Social workers
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Exploitation workers
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Support workers
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Youth work practitioners
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Youth Offending Service workers
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Teachers
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Behaviour Support workers
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People with AND without higher education qualifications
Career opportunities after the course?
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We have had students go onto higher education to study youth, community and families and social work.
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A number of past students have been able to secure jobs working with young people involved in violence and become recognised as the Gangs and Youth Violence and Specialist within their organisation.
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There will also be opportunities to progress onto completing the full certificate.
A number of students who previously previously done the course have went to university and/or have gone onto start their own organisations, develop their services further around working with young people impacted by youth violence such as;
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Tanayah Sam – TSA
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Darren Laville – The Epiphany people
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Rachel Warren – Birmingham Says No
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Michelle Kelly – A Fathers Child
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Sarah Rose – Sharing Kams Cuddles CIC
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Aaron Forde and Calum dwyer – Foundations 4 the future
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Natalie Quiroz – Inspire 2 quit blades
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Sean Monaghan – Safer Together
Various practitioners have gone onto become the key specialist within their organisation or were able to gain employment in a number of key organisations tackling serious youth violence.
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Laura – NHS Mental health Nurse
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Emily Ball – Safer London
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Britney Mitchelle – Empower U Hub
Check out some of our previous student’s stories here
About the Eastern Caribbean / global launching the course and delivering nationwide?
In 2021 we were contracted by the organisations of Eastern Caribbean States to deliver a bespoke version of our qualification to 80 practitioners involved in the juvenile justice sector across 4 of the countries.
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Dominica
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St Lucia
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St Vincent
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Grenadines and Grenada
