Inspired by the regular Society Guardian feature What else can I do? we are going to be running a series of live Q&As exploring career progression and alternative roles and options for a range of professionals.
The aim of the series is to see what career paths a range of roles offer and where you can transfer the skills gained in certain lines of work.
First up is youth work — which journalist Debbie Andalo covered in the What else can I do? feature last month.
Similarly to roles such as nursing and social work, youth work is soon to become a graduate-entry profession.
To discuss the impact this will have on the career paths of new youth workers as well as the options open to the existing workforce, we are bringing together a panel of experts from the sector in our live Q&A.
Our panel includes:
Diane Evans, national programme manager, National Youth Agency — an agency which works in partnership with public, private and voluntary sector organisations to support and improve services for young people. Diane is a professionally qualified youth and community worker with extensive experience in delivery within the youth work environment.
Debbie Andalo is a full time freelance journalist who writes the weekly public sector career columns, What else and I do? and Where else can I go? which appear in Society Guardian. She is a regular contributor to other Society pages and also writes for Education Guardian. She is author of How to change your career which was published Guardian Books in 2007.
Jane Wittenoom, skills project and development national manager at employment and skills experts Working Links. She specialises in talking about how people can use their skills in previous roles and bring them to other roles, such as youth work.
Gill Mason, community and society adviser for vocational training body, City & Guilds.
Emma Harrison, senior project worker at one of youth homelessness charity Depaul UK's 24-hour supported housing projects. Emma's project supports young people aged between 16-23 to develop and learn independent living skills.
More panelists to be announced.
The discussion is now open for your questions and comments, so get posting!
