Last updated 15:54, Wednesday, 07 May 2008

Building happier communities: We all benefit from strong communities

A COMMUNITY development worker's role is to work with particular communities in order to collectively bring about social change and justice.

They work with individuals, families or whole communities to empower them to identify their needs, opportunities, rights and responsibilities; and plan what they want to achieve, organise themselves and take action.

Community development workers often act as a link between communities and local government and other statutory bodies. They are frequently involved in addressing inequalities, and projects tend to target communities perceived to be disadvantaged.

Tasks typically involve:

identifying community issues, needs and problems

developing new community-based programmes and resources

helping to raise public awareness on issues relevant to the community

providing leadership and co-ordination of programmes

networking to build contacts and fundraising

liaising with interested groups and individuals to set up new services

overseeing the financial management of a limited budget

carrying out various administrative tasks.

Community work can be generic or specialised. Generic community work takes place in a given geographical area, focusing on working with the community to identify their needs and issues and jointly formulating strategies to address those issues.

Specialised community work focuses on either specific groups within a region – such as the homeless, the long-term unemployed, families with young children or ethnic minorities – or on particular concerns such as public transport, mental health or drugs action.

Range of typical starting salaries: £15,000 to £19,000. Range of salaries with two or more years' experience: £19,000 to £28,000.

Each working day will vary depending on scheduled activities for that week. Working patterns are therefore varied and often include unsocial hours, such as evenings and weekends, so flexibility is required.

Large towns and inner city areas with recognised social deprivation are more likely to receive sustained funding, for example from the government's Single Regeneration Budget (SRB). However the number of rural community development workers is steadily increasing.

Part-time and temporary work and career breaks are possible. Short-term contracts are common, due to the nature of funding in the sector.

Coping with social disadvantage and disaffected members of the community can be stressful.

There is frequent personal contact, liaison with other agencies and group contact in the community, so travel within a working day is to be expected. Absence from home at night is occasional.

ALTHOUGH this area of work is open to all graduates and diploma holders, a degree or HND in social sciences may improve your chances. Entry without a degree or HND is possible, but career development is more restricted. A degree in any subject will be an advantage in gaining higher level posts.

Relevant experience is far more important than the studied subject. Work is currently underway to develop more relevant and standardised qualification and progression routes.

Prospective recruits who will be working with children or vulnerable adults will be expected to undergo a police check.

For many posts, postgraduate qualifications are essential in order to progress to more senior-level positions. This is particularly true in generic community work.

A variety of full-time and part-time courses are available. One or two years of relevant experience is usually required. For further information, see The NYA Guide to Youth Work and Youth Services (youth work is more specialised, with a particular client group, and often a different agenda to community development work).

Pre-entry experience and voluntary work is crucial. People often become community development workers through teaching, youth work, community work, or involvement in the health sector.

Potential candidates will need to show evidence of co-ordination, planning and delivery of training; advocacy and networking skills; excellent communication, interpersonal and team-building skills; detailed knowledge and understanding of community and social issues; political and social skills to establish and maintain effective links with organisations and departments dealing with things such as housing, education, transport, legal and planning processes; the ability to empathise with people’s life experiences; fundraising (at a management level, there is an increasing emphasis on the need to identify and pursue sources of funding.

Community work is challenging, exciting and, at times, frustrating. You need to be prepared to cope with inevitable conflicts and setbacks. Results are long term rather than immediate, so patience and perseverance are essential.

Try to get involved in voluntary work as a student. Contact your local Volunteer Bureau (you can search for your nearest branch via Volunteering England) or the National Council for Voluntary Organisiations (NCVO) to get community project experience.

ONGOING training is essential in community work and usually occurs on the job or as part-time study to gain a recognised qualification. Since projects and communities vary so much, community development workers must constantly develop new skills, update old ones and acquire specific knowledge.

Training provision varies depending on the employer, but there are likely to be opportunities to develop relevant skills along with general self-development.

The voluntary sector is especially rich in interesting and relevant training opportunities, including accredited training programmes available at colleges and other learning centres. It is possible to take NVQs in Community Work and City & Guilds offer related courses throughout the UK.

Social services and other organisations employing community development workers offer a programme of in-house training, which usually focuses on issues such as child protection and equal opportunities.