The importance of youth work and community projects

Our Level 1 Youth Work & Community Engagement students have been learning about the value of supporting the community. 

The students have enthusiastically begun their volunteering placements, partnering with CATCH Leeds, a charity that is transforming lives.

This holistic course explores community issues such as employability, crime, mental health and environmental awareness. 

As part of their hands-on learning experience, the students conducted outreach to find out which projects the local community would benefit from. This involved conducting surveys and researching local issues.

So far, they have been assisting the CATCH farm by moving hay bales, cleaning animal shelters and organising town projects aimed at supporting the Harehills community, where CATCH is based.

We spoke with Karl Jones, our Public Services Programme Manager, to find out the impact of this important partnership.

Can you give an overview of the CATCH community engagement project and its main goals?

The main goal of this project is to align our department’s aims with those of the local communities. One of the benefits of the Youth Work & Community Engagement course and collaborating with CATCH is that it helps our students identify some of the main issues people want to change in their towns.

It also gives students employability skills, such as soft skills, which will help them build work experience, strong CV skills and networking opportunities. 

I think the future of the course could be really bright and will point students towards success. 

What inspired you to work with CATCH? 

We have partnered with CATCH for a few years now and have been aware of the incredible things they do within Leeds and surrounding areas. We have had students from our courses who also volunteer at CATCH outside of college and they have left a positive impact on both the organisation and us as a college.

We created a course that helps young people interested in youth work to develop essential skills like customer service, communication, presentation and other important life skills.

What roles or responsibilities do they take on? 

The students on our course spend half their week at Quarry Hill campus for their GCSE resits and the other half at CATCH to complete their community projects. 

The course has been set up to give students a hands-on approach to learning, community engagement and holistic development. Students do research, outreach and also practical work with animals and outdoors with the farm and the allotment.

In what ways do students apply the theory they’ve learned to their practical work in the community? 

It’s great to see students apply classroom theory to their community work. Most of the time this is through soft skills such as teamwork, leadership and conflict resolution. They’ll also use their communication, problem-solving and community development skills to engage with local groups. For example, our learners who work on the allotment demonstrate knowledge of nutrition, promoting healthy eating and local food systems that they’ve learned in class.

How does this project enhance the students’ understanding of community engagement and youth work?

I think giving the students real-life scenarios within the communities, which reflects the diversity of Leeds, prepares them for the job roles they want to go into. 

Reading a book, magazine or news article about a place doesn’t always provide the full picture. That’s why it’s valuable for students to go out into the community, talk to people and hear their perspectives. This strengthens their understanding of community engagement, helping them create initiatives that benefit local youth and families.

What kind of impact has the CATCH project had on the local community so far?

Through CATCH, we have supported getting young people into education (which has boosted their employability skills), and in turn, kept them off the streets. 

We have given young people a space they can access, use and call their own, providing them with opportunities that keep them on the right path.

What do you hope students take away from their involvement with CATCH? 

We hope that students take away great memories from the course, especially the things they can look back on in the future and be proud they were a part of.

We want our students to find a sense of purpose – something they’re excited to wake up and do well. The skills they learn will help them excel at their jobs, but having a purpose will push them even further.