Course Overview

Applications open from 1st April 2024.

This part-time certificate course provides a high-quality youth work programme, enabling people working within the youth work sectors, whether private, voluntary or statutory, to gain additional skills and knowledge in response to the changing youth work context.

Mode of Study: Blended Learning

The classes will be delivered via blended learning including a series of monthly workshops on Saturdays throughout the academic year September to May. The specific timetable for the academic year 2023/24 will be issued to all applicants in due course.

Applications and Selections

Applications open from 1st April 2024.

Applications are made online via the University of Galway Applications System. This course is listed under Adult Learning & CPD Courses Application.

Please visit our How to Apply page for Application tips and Supporting Documents information.

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Assessment is by means of a combination of written assignments, online exercises, project work and practical assignments.

 

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Applicants for the course should have good reading and writing skills, as well as basic IT skills, as independent home study is required.

Entry requirements for part-time students can be found in our FAQs section (i.e. age, english language requirements etc.). 

Additional Requirements

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Duration

6 months, part-time

Next start date

September 2024

A Level Grades ()

Average intake

25-30

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

Closing Date
NFQ level

Mode of study

Blended Learning

ECTS weighting

15

Award

CAO

Course code

Course Outline

The course has been designed in collaboration with organisations/employers in the wider youth work sector to ensure that participants are equipped to work in a variety of settings. As a part-time course, using blended learning methods, participants can structure their learning and study time while working in a youth work environment.

The course is conducted on a modular basis over one year. The blended learning methods of delivery involve a combination of online, flexible and face-to-face learning provision. The course is innovative for promoting active learning in the workplace, with assessments based on real-life situations in a youth work environment. The course is devised on a modular, credit basis, where each module carries a specific number of credits. The Certificate in Youth Work Practice carries an overall credit weighting of 15 ECTS.

Modules:

  • SP127 Understanding Communities (10 ECTS) 
    This module seeks to provide an understanding of the main themes and initiatives that characterise community development. The key principles of community development theory and their application to various types of community setting are explored. It also aims to provide participants with the practical skills and training necessary to enable them to work effectively with communities.
  • SP147 Youth & Society (5 ECTS)
    This module focuses on the life-stage of young person’s popularly and universally referred to as youth. Youth are duly recognized as a group who hold potential for great prospects in their personal and public lives. This life-stage development differs for all youth. Race, class, religion, gender and disability are dominant factors impacting on their life chances, educational experiences, vocational choices and potential. The critical debates around the reciprocity of youth and society are, therefore, located within the constitution of the family and the contexts of community and society.

See 2021/22 CYW1 Timetable for this years module dates.

Further Education

Graduates can choose to proceed to further studies such as the Diploma in Community Development Practice and/or the BA in Community and Family Studies.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

There are many career opportunities open to graduates of the Certificate in Youth Work Practice as it offers a solid practical and theoretical understanding of the youth work sectors, whether private, voluntary or statutory.

Who’s Suited to This Course

This course has been devised for:

  • People working within the youth work sectors, whether private, voluntary or statutory.
  • People with appropriate experience in youth work and who are in a position to undertake course assignments and projects relating to practical aspects of youth work.

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€550 2024/25

Fees: Tuition

€515 2024/25

Fees: Student levy

€35 2024/25

Fees: Non EU

€1,050 2024/25

Fees for this course are collected directly by the Centre, please see our staff listing

A fee scholarship of up to 30% may be available for students who wish to upskill for the purposes of re-employment. For more information download the 2023_24 Fees Scholarship Form

Find out More

Gail Cassidy
Tel: 091 495241
E-mail: gail.cassidy@universityofgalway.ie 


What Our Students Say

Deane

Deane Connolly |   Cert in Youth Work Practice graduate

The Level 7 cert. course was perfect for me, exactly what I needed to get back into education. It can help people from various backgrounds to take a leap back into the realm of classes/lectures in a way that is not threatening/daunting. My classmates were parents or students who had tried college but it hadn’t worked out & people who worked in the youth sector but wanted to go further. There was huge diversity which is so beneficial as you learn as much from your peers as you do from the tutors. The course workload & accessibility were very feasible. I’m 24 & had tried college before, straight from the Leaving Cert into a course that I was not passionate about. I dropped out, worked & started volunteering more in my local youth club when finally the penny dropped; this is what I wanted to do for a living. This course set me on the path. I’ve since completed it & I’m currently furthering my education with NUI Galway. The things that you learn are compelling & have a way to make a connection with something in your own life. The support you the student will have is second to none; you are not a number here, you are a person & the tutors want nothing but progression & success for you.