Community Development Learning
Community development work takes place in a wide range of settings and with a wide range of people and concerns. It includes areas such as social inclusion, regeneration and community learning. It is about working alongside people in communities, building relationships with key people and organisations, enabling people to identify common concerns, and taking collective action.
Community development learning is aimed at all people who are involved in working with communities whether paid or unpaid. You may be working with local communities (e.g. a tenant or neighbourhood group) or communities with a shared common interest (e.g. by age, gender, ethnicity). Most community development workers are attached to voluntary organisations or non-governmental agencies, but you could also be working with local authorities perhaps in the area of community education.
Interested in gaining a qualification in community development or youth work?
There have been massive changes in vocational qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland recently. All vocational qualifications are being mapped onto the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). In future there will be three sizes of qualifications: Awards, Certificates and Diplomas. Awards are the smallest sized qualification and Diplomas are the largest. Each sized qualification will also be available at different levels. The levels range from the lowest, Entry level, to the highest, Level 8. As part of this process all National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are being mapped into the new QCF framework. The term NVQ will disappear from use.
Youth Work
The Youth Work NVQs have been converted onto the new QCF framework. The Youth Work qualifications that City and Guilds offer are now called:
Level 2 Award in Youth Work Practice
Level 2 Certificate in Youth Work Practice
Level 3 Award in Youth Work Practice
Level 3 Certificate in Youth Work Practice
Level 3 Diploma in Youth Work Practice
NCDN is a recognised provider of the City and Guilds Youth Work qualifications.
Community Development
Partly as a result of the introduction of the QCF, the national occupational standards that underpin all community development qualifications are currently being rewritten in a project managed by the Federation for Community Development Learning (FCDL).
The work is ongoing; however the standards for the Award size qualifications have been accepted by OFQUAL and the Open College Network (OCN) are keen to create Award sized qualifications at Level 1, 2 and 3. Initially these qualifications will be developed by one of the regional OCN bodies with a view to them becoming nationally recognised soon after.
Once OCN has developed the Awards, NCDN will apply to offer them through it learning centre.
City and Guilds stopped allowing any learning provider to register new candidates on the Community Development NVQ in December 2010 and do not have any plans to offer the new Community Development Awards, Certificates and Diplomas when they become available. Existing Community Development NVQ candidates can be supported to complete their qualification until December 2012.
If you are interested in completing a Youth Work of Community Development training or qualifications please contact Andrea Perrett on 01668 219879 or email andreap@ncdn.org
To find out more about community development work and the national occupational standards that underpin it, visit www.fcdl.org.uk
