ETS Competence Model for Youth Workers

The Cities of Learning platform offers organisers adding skills and competences from the European Training Strategy (ETS) Competence Model for Youth Workers. The ETS competence model for youth workers has been developed within the frame of the European Training Strategy for Youth Work (ETS) by SALTO Training and Cooperation. The model aims to support youth work recognition and to enhance youth worker competence development. The ETS-YW Competence Model defines nine competence areas: facilitating learning, designing programmes, managing resources, collaborating in teams, communicating meaningfully, displaying intercultural sensitivity, networking and advocating, assessing and evaluating, being civically engaged.
When creating Activities, Organisers can add specific Skills tags (see Help article on using Use skills, competence and qualification frameworks).
You can find the following ETS-YW Competence Model competences available as Skills tags.
Facilitating learningAcknowledging the experiences of others
Addressing factors supporting and blocking creativity
Aiming at reaching educational aims by using specific ways and methods that encourage creativity, problem solving, ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking, in different environmental aspects
Being honest, respectful and transparent
Being OK with imperfections, failures, and mistakes
Confidently and constructively challengig a ‘them and us’ mindset
Creating a supportive environment to act on value, both residential and online
Encouraging and actively supports collective actions
Fostering democratic and active participation
Generating trust and maintaining confidentiality, respecting of privacy and data
Having the courage to improvise and experiment and recognising the importance of this
Motivating and empowering young people
Raising young people’s awareness of the power of change
Recognising own feelings and values and role modeling this process to others
Respecting ethical boundaries when working with (the group of) young people
Supporting young people in dealing with crisis situations in a fair and constructive manner
Designing programmesAddressing unexpected factors impacting the programme's development
Adopting a do-it-yourself approach in line with maker culture, emphasising repair, tinkering, and enhancement of own devices and technology
Aligning activity objectives with young people's needs
Applying GDPR regulations
Applying non-formal learning principles in programme design with emphasis on youth-centeredness, transparency, democratic values, participation, empowerment, and social transformation
Assessing young people's needs early in the activity planning and making necessary adjustments
Challenging underlying values of the programmes when necessary
Involving young people in the programme design when possible
Maximising opportunities in planning for young people to interact with diverse value systems
Navigating through uncertainties related to the programme
Reflecting critically on copyright rules and applying diverse authorship rights such as copyleft and creative commons
Viewing young people in a holistic manner
Managing resourcesAcknowledging and celebrating young people’s efforts
Building and maintaining a good relationship with individuals and the entire group of young people, taking their environment into account
Building on resources and opportunities from partnerships to increase quality and impact of the project, both offline and online
Demonstrating self-management skills
Developing programmes or activities based on a needs-and-opportunities analysis (including of the community, and of socialising activities)
Encouraging and supporting young people in managing resources – if possible in an environmentally-friendly and equitable way
Fundraising and managing financial resources
Paying particular attention to the young people’s well-being
Providing support for young people to take risks, including bridging to others outside of their in-group
Recruiting and managing volunteer and paid staff
Collaborating in teamsActing authentically
Allocating adequate resources and time to team building
Applying feedback techniques
Coaching colleagues – where possible and requested – based on the approach of non-formal learning
Dealing with frustration in a constructive manner
Deepening knowledge of particular topics/issues
Demonstrating empathy
Ensuring that knowledge, skills, styles and preferences in the team are shared and communicated
Helping build team spirit and trust
Identifying diversity, strengths and weaknesses in the team
Promoting communication and collaboration amongst the team members to nurture qualities and deal with resistance
Receiving and expressing criticism in an open, respectful and constructive way
Requesting and offering support where needed
Self-reflecting on their own values, beliefs and attitudes
Steering collective and individual emotions in a positive direction, including towards action where relevant
Usingown privilege and power for the benefit of others
Communicating meaningfullyAddressing others’ unexpressed concerns, feelings, or interests
Being attentive to body language
Being transparent about their personal emotional state and sharing thoughts in a simple manner
Creating an environment, both online and offline, where feelings and emotions can be freely and respectfully expressed
Demonstrating understanding of what sparks emotions and how to deal with this accordingly
Listening carefully to others, without judgement, interruption and, if possible, in an unbiased manner
Matching knowledge, theories and experiences to the reality and the identities in the group (explicitly or implicitly)
Self-reflecting to determine own feelings and emotions and understands their impact on others
Displaying intercultural sensitivityAcknowledging power and privilege, highlighting the potential for it in acts of solidarity
Being aware of who is included and who not, and uses words and actions to include others
Being willing to speak a foreign language and overcomes resistances and inhibitions
Encouraging self-confidence and demonstrates [a framed] flexibility in cultural and communicative behaviour
Encouraging young people to reflect and exchange ideas regarding issues such as solidarity, social justice, promoting/protecting human rights, discrimination, dignity and equality
Encouraging young people to reflect on their own identity and related elements
Explicitly wrestling with their own biases, assumptions and behaviours regarding stereotypes
Exploring the complex connections between identity, personal experiences, politics, society and history
Facilitating awareness-raising with regard to conflicts that exist in the society and how they relate to intercultural dialogue
Identifying and dealing with issues of power and privilege in and with the group
Recognising and interpreting words, body language and non-verbal communication in a culturally-appropriate manner
Reflecting on own values and senses of belonging to increase self-awareness and understanding of difference
Reflecting on theories, concepts and experiences and applies these with regard to ambiguity and change
Using appropriate tools and methods to support the group in deconstructing and reconstructing reality (wrestling with stereotypes, prejudices, assumptions, etc.)
Networking and advocatingAddressing power relations in a way that primarily focuses on the interest of the young people
Advocating for digital rights, closing digital divide and positive impact of digitalisation on societies
Dealing with and using media in a careful manner, ensuring the safety and rights of young people, other stakeholders
Encouraging equity in relationships
Promoting and explaining the [learning] potential of international mobility experiences
Role-modeling and stimulating self-reflection and discussion around privilege in the society and how to use personal privileges for acting in solidarity
Supporting partnerships with other actors
Taking a pro-active role in networking with other actors and organisations/structures in line with the interest of the young people
Taking a pro-active role in working on the political dimension of networking, making steps towards concrete actions
Transfering/sharing knowledge of youth and social rights and related formal regulations with potential partners and the young people
Using digital media and tools proficiently to spread and disseminate positive and supportive messages and as platforms to act in solidarity
Using social relationships as a resource towards overcoming structural and systemic obstacles
Where relevant, overcoming resistance to new partnerships through assessing the potential of that given partnership
Assessing and evaluatingDealing explicitly with the notion of change and transformation
Defining appropriate ways to collect relevant information/data
Demonstrating skills in report writing and presentations geared towards a variety of audiences
Developing adequate assessment approaches
Disseminating and using results of the project to build social capital in and around the community (bonds and bridges)
Encouraging creativity when dealing with the follow-up of a given experience
Interpreting information/data according to the profile and contexts of young people
Making decisions responsibly for a positive long-term impact on the community and the environment
Planing and applying a range of participative methods of assessment and evaluation
Supporting young people in challenging their views and capacity to envision next steps
Using findings to influence practice
Using research methods before and after the project to assess the needs of the community and the impact on them
Verifying that the outcomes of an evaluation properly match the methods used for the evaluation design and impact assessment
Where relevant, using digital tools to support the assessment and evaluation process, or the data analysis
Being civically engagedActively working on overcoming structural and systemic obstacles for critical youth civic engagement
Addressing the challenges to young people’s engagement (e.g., fake news and other information disorders) and their impact on political and social developments
Assessing and addressing potential risks when supporting young people in their critical civic engagement to ensure their safety
Co-creating actions with young people to address local and global, progressive social and human rights issues
Encouraging young people’s connections inside groups (bonding), with others (bridging), and with those with power (linking)
Role-modeling advocacy by speaking out against injustice in a socially responsible and effective manner
Self-reflecting on their own identity, values, privilege, power, and power relations, and ways in which they are put into action
Working towards engaging young people of different backgrounds in the social and political dialogue

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