Interview with Kaile

I am Kaile and I’m a modern apprentice with angus council currently completing a SVQ level 3 in youthwork with the Arbroath, Carnoustie, Monifieth and Sidlaw Communities Team. i am currently doing a lot of groups but a big project these past few weeks has been creating this campaign for youthwork week.

What made you want to do Youthwork?

I wanted to do youthwork after taking part in different groups and projects as a young person when I was in high school. i liked the social aspect, meeting new people, taking part in new opportunities and having fun.

What pathway did you take into youth work?

I started out as a young person in high school taking part in a lunchtime hang out group in the school, a place where my friends and I went to have lunch and to meet new people. I also was part of a step-up group; this was a group that was after school to help meet new people in my year and to help us familiarise ourselves with the school out with school time, I took part in these groups until I was in S2 and then went along again – but to help and to become a peer mentor for other young people joining the high school. I continued with these groups until S3 and was asked to come along to a group called #Destination and this was an angus wide group that was going to come together to plan a residential trip for a few nights away in Scotland. Going into S4 I was still part of #Destination and had started a new Angus wide strategy called Youth Engagement Strategy, this was about co-designing a strategy with the council and partners on how to engage with young people or to help overcome barriers that may get in the way of young people getting involved in groups. That was my first big piece of work that was being put out Angus wide. Youth Engagement Strategy and #destination took place during year of the young people, so we decided to expand #destination and make it a youth exchange rather than residential. The youth exchange took place in 2018 with an Italian group of young people they spent a week with us in Scotland and then we went over to Italy and spent a week over there. During this time as well as having fun we learnt a lot about ourselves and wellbeing. This was a big part of my youthwork journey as after taking part in the exchange I wanted to start thinking about youthwork as a career, so I continued with other groups and projects with the communities team until the end of S6 when lockdown hit so I had to stop volunteering due to the halt of groups – instead I went to college and completed a 16-week childcare course and in June I applied for the Modern Apprenticeship in youthwork.

What’s the best part of your role?

The best part of my role is meeting new people and gaining new experiences through working. I like taking part in new experiences and I love learning while being on the job, so this is a perfect opportunity for me. I am a very social person and love making new connections with different colleagues and young people making the job even better!