Community course will leave city-wide void

THE LJMU Youth and Community Work course, founded in 1993, is unique in Liverpool and is an industry-recognised route into professional youth work.

Last night, 29-year-old Gary Shillcock, one of 79 students on the course, said how appalled he was by the decision.

“There is nothing else out there in Liverpool – this is awful, disgraceful. The profession is already devalued and now they are to give it away altogether.

“It is the future youth workers we are fighting for. It’s an extremely important profession – particularly now in Liverpool, with cries for crime to be reduced and the need to engage with teenagers and youth workers can help do that.”

Diane Evans, national programme manager of the National Youth Agency, which validates the course, also spoke of her “disappointment they are not going to proceed” with what she described as “a clear and impressive route” for the city’s youth workers.

But an LJMU spokeswoman insisted it would “not leave a void in the city for community cohesion” saying remaining courses – such as Working with Children and Young People – “will maintain LJMU’s contribution, undiminished, including addressing effectively the Government’s Every Child Matters agenda” across Merseyside.