Child and youth workers play a critical role in the wellbeing of emotionally troubled children and youth. These workers implement a broad range of strategies to address social, emotional and behavioural challenges faced by young people and their families.

From advanced communication to emergency intervention, top training programs will prepare child and youth workers for even the most difficult professional scenarios. These skills are often consolidated through work placements, introducing students to the ins and outs of this challenging but satisfying career.

Are you curious about the practical skills you’ll learn in a Child and Youth Worker course program? Keep reading to find out more!

Communication Skills are a Crucial Asset for Child and Youth Workers

Among the skills that set the best child and youth workers apart, communication is essential. Communication strategies are critical for understanding the particular problems young people might be facing – and imparting the expertise they require.

Alongside the best practices in counselling, training programs impart communication techniques for a variety of professional scenarios. In particular, advanced communication techniques can assist in cases of clients with autism spectrum disorders, allowing child and youth workers to adapt their skills to these individuals’ particular needs.

Communication is a key outcome of these comprehensive courses. For instance, KLC College’s Child and Youth Worker program cultivates strong communication with two ‘Communication Skills’ modules, and a specialized workshop on autism spectrum disorders. This prepares graduates to deploy their expertise even when communication proves challenging.

A Child and Youth Worker College Education Prepares Students for Crisis Situations

Child and youth worker college education also builds skills for crisis situations, with prevention often taught as the best approach. In many cases, colleges will impart the skills required to deescalate disruptive or violent behaviours. These skills may be especially helpful when working with adolescents, offering them alternative – and non-violent – channels to express emotional troubles. Exemplifying this learning outcome, KLC’s Crisis Prevention Intervention workshop trains students in non-violent solutions to problem behaviour.

KLC also offers a Level ‘C’ workshop in First Aid and CPR, preparing students for health emergencies. With this type of training, Child and Youth Worker course programs prepare their graduates with tried and tested strategies for even the most difficult situations.

Practicum Experience is Crucial for Professional Training

While in a child and youth worker college program, students also benefit from practicum experience, either alongside their studies or upon finishing in-class learning. These work placements are perhaps the most important element of skill development ahead of a child and youth worker career.
A high-paced work environment builds new professional aptitudes and consolidates course learning outcomes. In addition to the skills required to work with youth and children, students learn to work with colleagues and professionals in adjoining fields.

Helping students acquire invaluable professional experience, work placements focus on the practical application of taught skills, professional ethics, and program outcomes. This experience helps round out in-class training, ensuring graduates are ready to excel in their careers.

Are you ready to start your child and youth care worker training?

Contact KLC College to learn more about our program!

 

Working in education can be overwhelming at times, and teachers often find that they could use an extra hand in the classroom. Fortunately, they can rely upon the help of an education assistant, who plays a vital support role for both students and the lead teacher.

Here are some tips on how students in education assistant courses can ensure a productive classroom once they begin their careers.

Utilize Lessons From Your Educational Assistant Course

The main duty of an education assistant is to collaborate with the teacher to provide an effective learning environment for students. In order to do that, graduates can build upon their education assistant training by focusing on child development, communication, and behavioural support.

Child development is an essential cornerstone in education. When students come to class, they are learning and developing new ideas and concepts, and it’s important to make sure they progress with comfort and confidence. Helping a student with one-on-one lessons or in a small group reinforces the material their teacher covers in class and provides a framework younger students can use to learn proper behaviour and reactions.

Communication is also a key aspect. When we communicate with each other, we are sharing our individual perspectives, and this is an important concept for children to understand. Many students see adults of any age as authority figures, and they take cues and behavioural patterns from the adults around them. An education assistant should keep this in mind, and communicate clearly and responsibly.

Be Flexible, Intuitive, and Responsive

An educational workplace is an environment which changes every day. Students enrolled in an educational assistant course learn how best to adapt and respond to these changes, but certain skills should be kept in mind to improve classroom performance.

For instance, patience is a common attribute of successful teachers and educational assistants. Most students will not learn something immediately, and every student learns and grasps new concepts differently. For assistants interested in special education, patience is an especially important skill, because some children require more attention and may have a more difficult time learning new material, and the teacher may need more support to address each student adequately.

Additionally, a good sense of intuition can help cut down on miscommunication and delays in the classroom. Teachers have an easier time managing their classes if they can rely on assistants to understand their duties and act rather than constantly needing instruction. By being flexible and patient with their daily tasks, as well as responding to situations and opportunities as they arise, assistants make sure the teacher and students can focus on the lessons at hand.

Foster a Professional Relationship With the Teacher

In order for students to feel comfortable in the classroom, there should be a professional working relationship between the teacher and educational assistant. Part of the educational assistant’s role is to help a teacher with their lesson plan, prepare materials, and ensure the classroom is set up to meet each day’s needs and demands.

By being clear and communicative with the teachers they are working with, assistants can clarify the expectations and context of their role in the classroom, which allows for more support and attention to be provided to the students.

Interested in becoming an educational assistant?

Contact KLC College for more information!

Home is a comfort to us all, whether it’s because of our family, pets or treasured items. Recreating that sense of home, while trying to address serious behavioural problems, is what residential treatment is all about. When other avenues have been deemed unsuccessful, this option can be a valuable way to help troubled young people develop.

Residential treatment can be separated into two separate categories – group homes and institutions. Child and youth workers are highly valued in these settings as they define and implement structures which these clients have been so often lacking in their daily lives. Here is some useful information on what to expect in this type of work, and what sort of skills are most sought after by employers.

Group Homes and Institutions: The Key Differences

Residential treatment offers full-time services to young people, and is a longer-term option compared to in-patient psychiatric care in a hospital. Group home services are generally offered at normal houses in the community, where a number of young people live together under the supervision of child and youth worker college graduates. Clients usually require long-term mental health support or need to temporarily escape homes which are deemed unsafe. They are encouraged to carry out normal household chores and may also be expected to be in education or employment during their stay.

 

Institutions, or semi-institutions, are treatment services which involve even higher levels of supervision. Clients in these facilities usually have more serious mental health problems, and the buildings are often situated in more isolated locations. Some rural programs involve young people partaking in farming activities while also going to school.

Common Residential Treatment Duties After You Become a Child and Youth Worker

Every young person deserves the right to have a good childhood, and residential treatment options give them a great chance to experience it. Child and youth workers help to devise household and study routines which develop the right blend of technical and life skills. This could involve assisting them with cooking and cleaning or helping with homework in the evenings. It can be wonderfully rewarding as you see these vulnerable young people develop the confidence to cook meals for others or excel in their studies.

 

Residential treatment can also include individual, family or group therapy, as child and youth workers seek to address the issues causing a client’s behavioural problems. Positive progress could eventually lead to them returning to their homes, where child and youth workers may still offer ongoing assistance during this transitional phase.

Work With Other Skilled Professionals to Make a Difference in People’s Lives

Young people in residential treatment require a complex range of services. Students in child and youth worker training are comfortable liaising with other trained healthcare professionals to offer ongoing assistance to clients. This could include social workers, teachers, or child psychiatrists, so you won’t feel alone as you’re facing down the challenges associated with this line of work.

Clients can, at times, be resistant to the structures in group homes, and professionals in these environments must be resilient. Effective communication and problem-solving skills are essential as you try to convince young people of the short or long-term merits of each household chore or rule. Nonetheless, many child and youth workers are inspired by the rewarding nature of this work, as they help young people flourish during difficult moments in their lives.

Do you want to become a child and youth worker?

The two-year program at KLC College will get you prepared for this fulfilling career.

Clinic placements are a useful opportunity to apply the lessons and skills taught in your coursework in a real-world setting. They allow an aspiring personal support worker (PSW) to gain meaningful experience while providing valuable healthcare services to their local community and clients in need of care.

While many students can be nervous before placements, finding the prospect of putting their theoretical knowledge into practice for the first time daunting, there is no need to be apprehensive. Here are a helpful few tips to make the most of a clinical placement.

Engagement is a Key Element in Any Personal Support Worker College Placement

For students enrolled in a personal support worker course, a clinical placement means necessary interaction with a variety of people, from mentors to healthcare professionals to clients themselves. A personable, open-minded approach will do wonders when it comes to adapting to a new environment, whether it’s a hospital ward or a client’s home.

A clinical placement is a valuable opportunity to observe and learn about the general operations of a PSW. This can mean simply learning by example, or through more hands-on methods. Supervisors and mentors play an important role, and should be consulted whenever a question or issue arises. The placement is also an opportunity to develop professional growth and knowledge, so certain limitations are to be expected, and it is in the best interest of the student, the teacher, and the patient to communicate and learn from new situations.

Presentation and Preparation is Half the Battle

Starting a new placement can be stressful, particularly if it is the student’s first time during their personal support worker college program. However, preparation in certain areas can help make for a smooth transition into a new work environment.

One of the easiest ways to prepare is to look the location of the placement up on a map, and be familiar with the basic aspects of the surrounding area. Calculating travel time is useful in order to avoid running into unexpected obstacles as well as any late arrivals. If you are working in a clinical environment, asking a staff member for a tour of the facility and noting any emergency exits or equipment can also help in future situations.

Due to the fact that the placement is often the first introduction to the healthcare field, care should be put into a professional presentation to show that the student takes their workplace responsibilities seriously.

Applying Lessons Learned From Your Personal Support Worker Course

The transition into the professional world, just as with anything else, is a continuing learning process. In their curriculum, students learn the foundations of becoming an exemplary personal support worker, including compassionate and effective techniques which treat the patient in a respectful, dignified manner. Healthcare services present their own challenges and obstacles, and proper coursework preparation can influence and make a difference in professional interactions within this environment.

Clinical placements will differ in how they operate from day-to-day, as well as in styles of management, but maintaining a working academic knowledge of the main aspects and functions that are expected will help each student build upon each experience for the duration of the placement as they work towards becoming a personal support worker.

Interested in studying to become a personal support worker at a KLC private college?

Contact KLC College for more information.

Career choices are often difficult, so it’s important to take stock of your own individual skills and qualifications when making a decision. Once you recognize your strengths, it’s much easier to pinpoint the line of work to which you are best suited.

A career as a pharmacy assistant, for instance, is one which requires a specialized skillset that includes a broad range of technical and soft skills, including customer service, attention to detail, and the ability to retain complex medical knowledge. Here’s how to tell if it is the right career for you.

Pharmacy Assistants Possess Great Organizational Skills

Pharmacy assistants are often tasked with the distribution of complex medications through the filling of prescriptions. Walk into any pharmacy and you’ll see a variety of different products in front of and behind the counter, and excellent attention to detail is required to ensure that no errors are made during drug dispensing.

This is done by maintaining an organized workspace, where products are stored correctly at all times. If you like to stay organized and tidy in your personal and working lives, then pharmacy assistant training could be a great fit.

Effective Communicators are a Great Asset in Pharmacies

Communication skills are valuable in so many careers, and it’s no different for pharmacy assistants. They must maintain close interaction with work colleagues, including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, to ensure that all staff are notified of potential problems.

Pharmacy assistants are also in close contact with customers, many of whom may be in distress as they seek a remedy for their own ailment. Effective communication skills are vital in providing clarity to customers about the medication they are about to take, including the directions for use.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition Can Make Pharmacy Assistant Training Easier

Some students may already possess knowledge or experience in a pharmacy environment or another course, and this can be used to your advantage in the pharmacy assistant training program at KLC College.

Before beginning your course, you can take a Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) challenge exam. If you achieve a score of at least 75%, then you can use that certification as part of your further studies. This is a great way to get a head start on the path to a pharmacy assistant career, so find out more about your eligibility.

The Modern Pharmacy Needs Students With Excellent IT Skills

Pharmacies include a wide variety of medication and other health-related items, and computer software is important in tracking their ongoing availability. Customer records must also be maintained, so proficiency in computer skills is highly valuable among pharmacy assistants.

Many modern pharmacies are able to accept prescription details online, too, which speeds up the distribution of necessary medication even further. If you enjoy working on computers, then you’ll be able to put those skills to good use as a pharmacy assistant.

Use Your Math Skills to Good Effect When You Become a Pharmacy Assistant

The medication distributed by pharmacies is complex, and pharmacy assistants need math skills to perform calculations and ensure customers are being given the right prescriptions. KLC College’s program, for example, requires that students have a minimum of one senior math subject with their Grade 12 Provincial Secondary School Diploma. If you’re a wiz with numbers, a pharmacy assistant career is a great way to put your skills to good use in the modern workplace.

Does it sound like you have what it takes to become a pharmacy assistant?

Find out more about our dedicated pharmacy assistant diploma program at KLC College.

Education is a wonderful line of work which attracts compassionate, organized and friendly staff. It’s sometimes quite a demanding career, but it’s all worth it when you help children to achieve their potential. It’s even more rewarding when you work with children with special educational needs, a challenge which requires a dedicated skillset developed during education assistant courses.

There are a lot of transferrable skills and traits that can be carried over into this career, but first and foremost workers should be comfortable and excited about working with children, especially at an early age. During this crucial stage of their development, education assistants are excellent mentors who get their school years off to a great start.

Here are four ways of knowing whether or not you are suited to this career.

Education Assistants Communicate Effectively with Students and Co-workers

Children learn lots of new information every day, and strong communication skills allow educators to get their message across effectively. Students in education assistant training are comfortable speaking to people of all ages, and also listen carefully to questions or remarks from students or colleagues. Not all people retain these skills, so you can excel in this career if you are a ‘people person’.

Education assistants are part of a much wider team in schools which aim to ensure that students develop their knowledge and personal skills. Effective communication is also vital within this team, so that all educators can work together to overcome potential problems.

Take New Tasks in your Stride in this Exciting Career

Working with children can throw up lots of challenges every day, and education assistants must adapt quickly to resolve them. It’s difficult to follow a firm daily schedule of work, and flexibility is required to juggle each task.

This is therefore a career which suits comfortable multi-taskers, whether that means working with more than one child at a time or trying to get some paperwork done during the day. Some people are easily able to switch their focus from one task to another, and if that sounds like you, this could be the perfect career choice.

Show Patience and Compassion When Working with Children

Children are a joy to be around. Their enthusiasm and laughter are infectious and it’s heartwarming when you receive their gratitude. This makes working in education a career which suits friendly and compassionate individuals. It does, of course, throw up many challenges, but this can be overcome by patiently dealing with whatever issues children may experience.

Compassionate individuals are also particularly well-suited to a workplace in which students have special educational needs. These children have the same thirst for knowledge as others, and educational assistant course graduates are enthusiastic about helping them to achieve great results.

Enjoy Hands-on Learning in an Education Assistant Training Course

Some people prefer working with facts and figures in academia or a desk job, but others are much more excited about learning and thriving in a vibrant workplace. Students can experience this exciting environment from a very early stage by enrolling in education assistant programs like the one offered by KLC College.

We offer 600 hours of practical experience during the course, so you can develop your skills in the best way possible. This is a career suited to somebody who embraces challenges and wants to immerse themselves in a new career immediately.

Does an education assistant training course sound like the best career move for you?

Find out more about KLC College’s comprehensive program.