Working With Young Offenders

There are a number of opportunities to work with young offenders, all of which require dedication, determination, motivation and a non-judgemental and supportive attitude. Any person wishing to work with young offenders must be dedicated to the practical and positive rehabilitation of young people, without labelling or discrimination.

Types of Jobs Available

The majority of roles working with young offenders are based in some sort of secure unit, semi-secure unit or institution, with high levels of regulation and administration required to maintain tight rehabilitation programmes. The roles are mostly demanded by local authorities and/or the Prison Service, although there are also charities, youth groups and religious organisations that recruit people to work with young offenders.

As of the end of 2010, all people who work with young offenders in a supervisory capacity are required to be graduates with training and/or qualifications approved by the National Youth Agency and the Joint Negotiating Committee for Youth and Community Workers. Up until the end of 2010, qualifications simply needed to be validated by these organisations, with a degree not required. There are also a few universities offering specific degrees related to working with young offenders, although these particular courses are not required to apply, with relevant degrees such as psychology or teaching more than welcome.

Skills & Responsibilities

Skills required to work with young offenders are varied, as befits such a responsible role; a role that can have a great impact on often disadvantaged young people who have fallen into difficult circumstances. It is most important not to be judgemental, either of the young offender or their family situation, but to offer support and positivity to aid rehabilitation. The overriding focus of the role of someone working with young offenders is to prevent or at least reduce the potential of further offending behaviour. The young person must be able to respect their team, which will usually include social workers.

Responsibilities include:

• Help with suitable housing
• Working with the young person’s relatives to ascertain potential support and/or flash points
• Working with drug users, offering or signposting to suitable counselling
• Empowering the young person to act positively

Working with young offenders demands a lot of multi-agency work, so you would need to be comfortable making referrals and dealing with all manner of other agencies.

Salary and Benefits

This career can be relatively well paid, with starting salaries for graduates with relevant skills at around £20,000, not including shift pattern payments or London weighting (typically around 20%). After three years' experience, this rises to around £25,000, with senior youth offender workers earning around £30,000-£36,000. There is a good career progression, plenty of opportunities and excellent benefits, including career breaks.

The profession is keen to recruit specialist youth offender workers with skills focused on positive rehabilitation, such as sports teachers, art & crafts facilitators and trained counsellors that can bring a sense of ‘mentoring’ to this rewarding yet challenging role.

Alternative Careers

You may also be interested to read our articles on Becoming A Social Worker or Working with Children on this site.