I want to become a youth worker in British Columbia. What courses would I need to do?

Answer 1

You'll need to be qualified in Social Work. You could do a Bachelor of Social Work at UBC or UVic. These programs usually admit third-year students, so make smart choices in your first two years. Psychology, Sociology, Aboriginal Studies, Women's Studies, etc. would be good fields to choose your courses from.

If you want to to work more on the administrative / policy side and less face-to-face stuff with kids, you could go with a degree in Psychology.

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Answer 2

Depends what they are for, if its crimes like drugs, fraud etc... you should be fine. If its for violent offenses, like abh, gbh, murder etc... its doubtful, at least until they are spent. With abh and gbh, some places will let you work after they are spent. I think its 5 years if you had a non custodial, and longer if you went to prison, depending on the length of the sentence. So yea, it all depends on what it was for, if you went to jail, and if so for how long Edit: under 6 months should be fine. And don't listen to these people, if you did youth work with young offenders, if you were a changed person, you're a roll model. Nobody will understand how a dumb mistake can mess up everything...everybody makes mistakes, we all just make different mistakes. They have the rehabilitation act, which doesn't rehabilitate if people judge you like these people and some employers, if people can't work when they leave prison they will commit crime, just to live day to day. Alot of youth clubs employ ex offenders, because only they can relate, and only they show those kids that you can actually do something. You will be a reason to try, so forget the negative answers. Good luck