In Practice: Ask the Experts

Young people persistently say there is nothing to do, and nowhere to go, especially at weekends. Knowing young people are asking for change should encourage staff. Still, as regular weekend work is not part of most employment contracts, it may prove difficult to ask them to give up, say, 44 Friday or Saturday evenings a year.

Start planning and organising this at least a term before you start weekend opening. Advertising for specific full-time weekend workers should help, together with a fair rota system for current workers, who will then only have to cover perhaps one in four weekends.

I understand that the government's workforce strategy announced new training for youth workers. Will this be open to sessional youth workers or full-time local authority staff only?

The aim of the training is to make the different elements of the youth workforce have a better sense of identity, rather than feeling like a cog in the process of supporting young people. Third sector workers should have the same opportunities as statutory and private sector workers to develop the sense that everyone belongs to one workforce.

That said, it is up to the various heads of service and senior managers of voluntary projects to decide who they prioritise for training. Hopefully, all full-time, substantive and part-time workers will have the opportunity to take advantage of it.

Ask your chair or senior manager to contact the head of youth services at your local authority to ask about local plans to roll out the training.

- Your questions answered by 4Children and ContinYou's consultancy services. If you have a question, please email colin.hamilton@haymarket.com.