Volunteer mentor to youth information worker
A volunteer mentor already meets 17% of what the youth information worker role asks for. The move turns on 29 required skills not yet in the profile.
84.7/ 100
1 How much of what a youth information worker is expected to do is already part of a volunteer mentor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the youth information worker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A youth information worker role treats 6 of its required skills as things a volunteer mentor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate with youth
- empower young people
- give constructive feedback
- listen actively
- mentor individuals
- train employees
What stands in the way is 29 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A youth information worker role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a volunteer mentor background worth leading with.
- already held empower young people assisting and caring
- already held communicate with youth communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held mentor individuals communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held give constructive feedback communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held listen actively communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held train employees communication, collaboration and creativity
All 6 carried skills, including the 6 the youth information worker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn cooperate with professionals required
- still to learn develop non-formal educational activities required
- still to learn identify customer's needs required
- still to learn identify information needs of young people required
- still to learn manage youth information services required
- still to learn address problems critically required
- still to learn communicate professionally with colleagues in other fields required
- still to learn develop professional network required
- still to learn support the positiveness of youths required
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- still to learn apply quality standards in youth services required
- still to learn establish connections with young people required
- still to learn provide youth information counselling required
- still to learn reach out to diverse youth required
- still to learn support the autonomy of young people required
- still to learn maintain privacy required
- still to learn provide information required
- still to learn maintain updated professional knowledge required
- still to learn manage data, information and digital content required
- still to learn organise information services required
- still to learn media and information literacy required
- still to learn youth work principles required
- still to learn youth-centred approach required
- still to learn project management required
- still to learn social media management required
- still to learn assess the development of youth required
- still to learn exercise patience required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a youth information worker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply quality standards in youth services practise this
- 02 assess the development of youth practise this
- 03 cooperate with professionals practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 6 skills that carry over
- already held communicate with youth skill
- already held empower young people skill
- already held give constructive feedback skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held mentor individuals skill
- already held train employees skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn communication principles required
- still to learn collaborate through digital technologies required
0 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
23 held skills the youth information worker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advocate for others skill
- not needed by the target role assist clients with personal development skill
- not needed by the target role brief volunteers skill
- not needed by the target role capacity building knowledge
- not needed by the target role coach young people skill
- not needed by the target role coaching techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role data analytics knowledge
- not needed by the target role data protection knowledge
- not needed by the target role demonstrate leadership in social service cases skill
- not needed by the target role develop a coaching style skill
- not needed by the target role empower social service users skill
- not needed by the target role facilitate teamwork between students skill
- not needed by the target role health and safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain professional boundaries in social work skill
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role personal reflection techniques based on feedback knowledge
- not needed by the target role relate empathetically skill
- not needed by the target role show intercultural awareness skill
- not needed by the target role sustainable development goals knowledge
- not needed by the target role types of digital badges knowledge
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
- not needed by the target role validation of learning acquired through volunteering knowledge
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn media and information literacy required
- still to learn project management required
- still to learn youth work principles required
- still to learn youth-centred approach required
- still to learn communication principles required
- still to learn social media management required
Common questions about this move
Can a volunteer mentor become a youth information worker?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A volunteer mentor already covers 17% of what a youth information worker is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 6 of which the youth information worker role treats as required.
What skills does a volunteer mentor need to become a youth information worker?
29 required skills are missing, plus 0 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is apply quality standards in youth services.
How hard is the move from volunteer mentor to youth information worker?
Its learning distance is 84.7 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.