Gary Dougan works as a Youth Support Worker In-charge with the Education Authority.
What does your role involve?
Being a Pathway Student I am both a full time worker and a student on Ulster University’s Community Youth Work Degree. I can work with children and young people from around the age of 8 right up to 25. I do group work sessions, work with children and young people on a 1-1 basis if there is a need, general youth work in drop in and working with schools delivering OCNs. I also do the admin side, planning groups, developing session plans/booklets, applying for funding, organising meetings etc. Then at the same time I am studying for my Youth Work Qualification also as part of the Education Authority’s Pathways Scheme.
What does a typical day look like?
Before Covid a typical day for me would be going into the office and answering and sending emails, organising meetings with people whether that be my line manager for supervision or local services to provide workshops for our children and young people, or even parents about different opportunities for the children and young people. Then once the admin is done I would plan the night ahead in the centre, what groups are happening, what staff are in and what does the night look like etc. and the day might start around 9:30am and end around 10:00pm as I live in Belfast but work in Craigavon.
How did you decide on this career?
I volunteered for an organisation (Northern Ireland Alternatives) where my uncle was the manager and he offered me the opportunity to get involved from a very young age. Then I stopped when I went to university because I had no time studying for a full-time course and working three jobs. Then I got the opportunity to do my Diploma with Challenge for Youth through George Williams College London. From doing this I found a love for youth work that I didn’t have originally volunteering and I think that is down to age and maturity – I didn’t appreciate the work I did when I was younger. Then I finished my degree in Art and knew I wanted to work with young people and art so applied for a teaching degree in Liverpool and got accepted, but failed a skills test and when I didn’t get upset I knew that I didn’t want that type of career so pursued youth work more. I worked in four different youth clubs then over a period of eight years in the Education Authority and the voluntary sector to gain experience and then applied for this post I’m in now. The rest of my story is still to be written.
How did you get involved in the Youth@Play programme?
The senior workers suggested the programme, we were giving the options of different days to take part and they were flexible. It involves many different youth workers from different areas of Northern Ireland with a vast variety of skills and knowledge, working together to learn and develop their skills within their youth work settings.
Has the programme been beneficial?
It has, it gave me opportunities to meet other workers from different clubs and create a better network of resources, but it has also given us all great examples of how we can integrate play within our centres when working with the development of young people and how important play can be to a child.
What have you learned from the programme that you will use in your current or future roles?
The importance of play for children and young people, and that it can be as easy or as difficult as we or the children and young people want it to be. It has opened my mind more to let children be more expressive and creative in what they do.
Would you recommend the programme to others?
I would recommend it, but I think it would need to be delivered differently than online which is not PlayBoard’s fault, that is down to Covid.
Has your view of play changed?
My views have always been positive about play, I become a big kid when our children and young people want to get involved in games and activities because it engulfs them for a period of time in this world of fun and takes their mind off things they may be struggling with or dealing with in the real world.
“We don’t stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing” – George Bernard Shaw
