Who is it for?  This study invites individuals who manage and lead youth services or youth provisions, where the role includes responsibility for allocating work duties, defining roles, and determining responsibilities within youth work practice.

The study is not seeking participation from:

• Young people or service users
• Front-line youth work employees who do not hold managerial or leadership responsibilities

Participation is limited to those able to contribute an organisational and strategic perspective on role allocation and qualification requirements within youth work settings.

To ensure we gather in-depth information it may take up to 60mins to complete.

Purpose of the Research.

To investigate the relationship between qualification levels and professional roles within youth work.

Specifically, the research seeks to explore:

• How different youth work providers link qualification levels to job roles and associated responsibilities
• Whether current youth work roles and responsibilities are connected to particular levels of qualification
• The extent to which roles and responsibilities are applied consistently across the youth work profession
• The influences, barriers, and organisational factors that contribute to variation or inconsistency in roles and responsibilities within youth work practice

Through this exploration, the study aims to contribute to a clearer understanding of how qualification frameworks and professional roles are currently interpreted and enacted within the youth work sector.

 Link to online survey:  Qualification Levels and Professional Roles in Youth Work Practice – Fill in form

Researchers: Simon Williams (University of Derby) and Ian Jones (Nottingham Trent University)

Open until Friday 5^th June 2026

Thank you for your support

Simon and Ian