How YWU supports the sector

Funding

A listing of available funding from small one-off grants to multiple year funding.

Regional, National and International News

Latest news in the Youth sector, Regionally, Nationally and Internationally.

Reports

The latest reports affecting the sector, finding information and links to them all here.

Resources

Useful resources for Youth Work Practitioners

Jobs & Opportunities

Current roles in the youth work sector from across the region.

Events & Training notices 

A listing, with links to the YWU events and more.

Support to Local Youth Partnerships / Alliances

Funding

We are all too aware of the difficulties faced by all providers of youth work in these difficult times with rising costs to provide and increasing demand on services continue. Funding becomes even more vital we aim to provide access to funding opportunities from small one of grants to long-term multiple year funding. Please note that the YWU does not award or administrate any grants please refer to the named funder more information.

  • The CABWI Lifelong Learning and Development Fund is provided by CABWI, the awarding body for the water and utilities industries, and is managed by the CABWI charity.

    Grants are available to registered charities in the UK that work directly with young people and adults who are not in employment, training, or education (NEET).

    Funding priorities are:

    • Working directly with young people who are either NEET or at risk of becoming NEET to improve their access to employment and the labour market.
    • Reaching and working with individuals with complex barriers to employment, enabling them to move closer to or into employment, including (but not restricted to) ex-service personnel and ex-offenders.
    • Increasing the life skills of people so that they may further develop their careers, with a particular focus on the water, utilities and construction industries.

    Organisations with an income of:

    • Between £266,666 and £1 million can apply for grants of up to £40,000.
    • Up to £266,666 may apply for a maximum of 15% of their previous year’s turnover.

    Funding can be used for core and/or project costs.

    There is a two-stage application process.

    Expressions of Interest open 5 January 2026 and close on 26 January 2026.

  • Calling all community groups and organisations in England – grants of up to £2,000 are available to apply for

    funding for small, local organisations that are making a meaningful difference in their communities

    Building on the success of previous funding rounds, the programme will run from January to September 2026 providing more opportunities to apply.

    Priority will be shown to organisations which meet the following criteria:

    • Funding for communities that rank as being within the top 15% on the English Indices of Deprivation
    • Organisations that work with and support communities classed as marginalised or vulnerable
    • If you have previously received funding through the programme: you are invited to apply again once your grant spend is complete and you have submitted an end of grant report
    • If you were unsuccessful in previous rounds: we would welcome a new application from you this year

    The programme is possible thanks to funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and is awarded through Postcode Local Trust, Postcode Places Trust, Postcode Neighbourhood Trust and Postcode Society Trust.

    Applications will open on Wednesday 7 January and close in September 2026.

  • Another Way Women’s Foundation is an independent, volunteer-led, grant-making charity dedicated to enabling a brighter and fairer future for women and girls through financial support, education, empowerment and advancement.

    The Foundation supports impactful projects and services with the aim of accelerating gender equality, effecting system change and advancing women’s lives, sustainably, at both an individual and community level.

    UK registered charities and other not-for-profit organisations based and working in England and Scotland can apply for either of the following grants:

    • Another Way Women’s Foundation grants are for any type of project, initiative, service aimed at advancing and empowering women, creating positive social change, sustainably impacting communities, or indeed anything that makes the world a brighter and better place for women and girls.
    • The ‘£1000 for 1000 words’ grants provide ‘seed funding’ to kick start things on a project or service aimed at advancing women’s lives for the better.

    The grants typically fall into two areas:

    • Project support – ‘seed’ funding for pilot or start-up initiatives to show ‘proof of concept’, with a view to enabling partner organisations to go on to apply for further/larger grants from other funders to expand/increase the project scope, or to attain self-sustainability for the project.
    • Services support – aid funding to enable support organisation and service providers to pay for essential service delivery.

    The Foundation has announced that from January 2026, there will be two application windows each year:

    • ​January is for general applications supporting women and girls in any area.
    • ​September is for specific applications supporting women and girls only in the stated focus area of that year:
      • September 2026 – Sport and Leisure
      • September 2027 – Environment, Eco and Sustainability
      • September 2028 – The Arts

    The next application round is for general applications supporting women and girls in any area.

    Applications open on 1 January 2026 and close on 31 January 2026.

Regional, National and International News

  • 12 January 2026

    National & International News

    Decline of Saturday Job ‘Means Young People Aren’t Ready for Work’

    Alan Milburn told The Times that the “longstanding decline” in Saturday jobs means people are not prepared for the workplace. Milburn, a health secre ...

  • 12 January 2026

    National & International News

    Government Unveils Inspection Plans for Multi-Academy Trusts

    Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has proposed an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to bring multi-academy trusts into the ...

  • 12 January 2026

    National & International News

    Junk Food TV And Online Advert Ban Comes into Force

    Junk food adverts are now banned on television and online as part of a drive to tackle childhood obesity. The UK-wide ban stops food and drinks high ...

  • 12 January 2026

    Opportunities for Youth Workers | Regional News

    New magistrates in Yorkshire wanted as Government launches national recruitment campaign

    Ordinary people from all walks of life in Yorkshire are being called on by the Government to volunteer delivering justice by becoming a magistrate. R ...

Reports

Resources

  • Fundraising Regulator: Guidance for using artificial intelligence in fundraising

  • Recognising Young Carers: The Quiet Strength Behind Our Communities.”

  • Explore Europe with a disability!

  • that Welcome to Your Vote Week 2026 will take place Monday 9 March to Sunday 15 March

Job Opportunities

Are you looking for your first role in youth work? Or perhaps you are looking to use your established knowledge and skills in a new role. Our jobs listing may just be what you need.

Individual organisations are invited to list their vacancy(ies) on our page for free. However, the YWU take no responsibility for the content of external vacancy listings.

Do you have a vacancy you want to advertise? Contact the team on theunit@youthworkunit.com

Youth Worker Opportunities

Here you will find opportunities for all working with young people from training opportunities to being involved with national projects. Please note that unless clearly stated these opportunities are not provided by the Youth Work Unit and do not take no responsibility for their content.

Do you have an opportunity you want to advertise? Contact the team on theunit@youthworkunit.com

Events & training notices 

Here at the YWU we provide several events from our youth workers networks to our annual conference. We provide training in all aspects of youth work and beyond many are delivered specifically for individual organisations, though occasionally we do offer open courses for anyone to enrol.

Degree level training is available across the county- click the link to find a course that works for you https://nya.org.uk/degrees-offered-by-higher-education-institutions/

More information about training the YWU can provide can be found https://youthworkunit.com/about-us/our-offer/training/ for more information contact the team on theunit@youthworkunit.com

the Network of Regional Youth Work Units share many of their CPD opportunities with practitioners outside of their region, so do check out their websites https://www.regionalyouthunits.com/

Learn more about our training

Training is a vital resource for supporting and developing the youth work sector workforce including volunteers. It promotes retention, progression and of course the best possible experience for young people.