South Africa will host the first Commonwealth conference on the education and training of youth workers at the University of South Africa’s (Unisa’s) main campus from March 18 to 20, Deputy Minister in the Presidency Responsible for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Obed Bapela said on Sunday.

The international conference would be held under the theme 'Education and training of youth workers: Towards the professionalisation of Youth Work' and would be geared towards sharing experiences and lessons learnt to advance the critical agenda of professionalising youth work across the Commonwealth and beyond.

Bapela indicated that the conference would provide a platform for participants to deliberate on issues relating to their work and chart a way forward to ensure recognition of youth work as a professional practice.

The Commonwealth Youth Programme has, over the last 40 years, liaised with member governments and academic institutions to provide education and training for workers, as the Diploma in Youth Development Work, short courses in that field, and the Degree in Youth Development Work currently offered in the Asia-Pacific region, evidenced.

In South Africa, Unisa is offering a Diploma in Youth Development Work, while other institutions of higher learning also offer youth work qualifications. However, these institutions were faced with the challenge of producing graduates who were not being employed, owing to a lack of recognition for their work.

“Further, other development workers whose roles impact on youth development may not necessarily be aware of youth workers’ critical contributions to the youth development sector. Hence, as a mainstreaming and advocacy effort, there is a need to bring together various stakeholders in the youth development space through initiatives such as this conference to share experiences and lessons learnt,” Bapela stated.

He added that the conference had been designed as a biannual event for all youth workers, researchers in youth development, academics in youth development studies, policymakers, and government officials, to discuss and agree on the common agenda for professionalising the field of youth work.

The conference would encompass plenary and parallel workshop sessions that would cover themes that include the education and training of youth workers; recognition of prior learning and continuous professional development; standardisation of youth work curricula in the Commonwealth; building and sustaining a strong front through formation of professional youth work associations and promoting youth work through national youth policies and programmes.

“Through this conference, we seek to create awareness of youth work as a practice that is worthy of recognition as a profession and advocate for the provision of a qualification in youth work by education and training institutions. In the end, all these will build the capacity of those involved in youth work.

“In South Africa, the 2011 census revealed that young people between the ages of 15 and 35 constitute more than 40% of the population. Therefore, we cannot continue as if it is business as usual. We hope this conference will improve the status of youth work and, in turn, change for the better the way in which youth workers do things in an effort to improve the lives of young people,” Bapela said.

He noted that about 500 delegates from the 54 Commonwealth member States, including South Africa, were expected to attend the inaugural conference.