Characteristics of a Youth Worker

      As told by Wood, Westwood, and Thompson, The Seven Characteristics of a Youth Worker include educational practice, social practice, a youth worker actively challenges inequality and works towards social justice, gives a choice to be involved, strengthens the voice and influence of young people, welfare practice, works with people holistically.
                                 Youth Work is an educational practice. 

     This includes building open and trusting relationships with your youth. This will promote an environment of learning for your youth where it can benefit in many areas of the following characteristics. Educational practice also uses different methods and activities for informal education and learning. This will create a learning relationship that builds a relationship that will open up that space for new opportunities, activities, and conversations that enable young people to think, feel, and act differently to their social work
                                Youth Work is a social practice.

     Social practice promotes working in groups in order for young people to engage and associate with their peers. Pro social modeling is an example of social practice that enables a group of young people in to express their values, attitudes, and behaviors.
                           Youth work actively challenges inequality and works towards social justice.
This is youth work that is geared toward the social injustice of the margins of people that are excluded
by personal, cultural, and structural barriers. Within the youth work is anti discriminary practice where there is work within the legal framework and anti oppressive practice that is a commitment to empowerment and the ability to reflect, and work critically in order for change. The youth worker would be one to address power imbalances rather than say or do the "right" thing.
                         Youth Work gives youth a choice to be involved. Rather than participating because they are compelled to. This give youth the choice to voluntarily engage and in a successful learning environment they will. Youth work takes place in a variety of settings whether it be a controlled setting such as school where the youth are forced to participate but as a youth worker this creates more experiences for informal learning in and out of the classroom.
                        Youth Work strengthens the voice and influence of young people.

This entails empowerment participation, active citizenship, and democratic engagement. This enables youth the influence the environment in which they live.
                                                                    Youth Work is welfare practice.

Welfare practice promotes the welfare and safety of young people. Youth workers most of the time work with young people who experience high areas of deprivation. Also it is a practice that avoids framing the work we do as preliminary problems.
     Youth Work works with young people holistically. Working with youth holistically can be perceived as a fix for hot spot areas. This can cause some difficulty when this becomes the main focus of the youth worker. But this also allows the workers can do and make                                                               contributions to various social policy objectives.