Youth work has been supported by a JNC made up of a Staff Side representing employees (youth worker’s unions) and an Employers, Side made up of local authority representatives (councillors) and the voluntary sector in England and Wales.
I have been representing the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) for a number of years on the JNC and I’m fortunate to know the positive difference that youth work makes. I believe that due to the reduced number of youth workers employed by local authorities, the Local Government Association and its member local authorities are struggling to justify its separate identity. This is a double shame as the JNC is the only negotiating body that brings together volunteers (including those from the church) and local government employees.
There are still youth work employers in the voluntary (charity) sector who employ their youth workers on the same pay scale that the JNC determines and many refer to the structure as a strong point of reference. The JNC also agrees the working conditions (annual leave, number of evenings worked etc.), mutually agreed to be reasonable, leading to sustainable working patterns.
The JNC is still the name or ‘brand’ that represents standards used to train new voluntary and paid youth workers so they can learn from years of experience. For more information, check out the JNC factsheet on the NCVYS JNC web page.
For a long time, Christians have worked to make sure that churches and Christian youth work learns ways of working with young people in a professional way. There are now thousands of trained youth workers in the church and in their communities who call their degrees, diplomas and certificates ‘JNC’.
You can contribute to the JNC workforce survey, by emailing David. Algie@local.gov.uk
Alastair Jones is CEO of Frontier Youth Trust and NCVYS Representative on the Employers’ Side of the JNC.
