Hot Tip -- by Len Simon

Hey! Do you enjoy:

• Having fun at work?
• Playing games, and getting paid for it?
• Hanging out with groups of energetic people?
• Being patient with youth and children?
• Listening and being supportive when somebody is having a bad day?
• Letting others know you care about them?
• Feeling like you have helped to make our community a little better place?

So do I, and we're not alone! We are a group of people who like to contribute to the betterment of the lives of others, and specifically to the lives of children. Child care workers have a variety of different job titles, and roles to fill. This means each worker needs to be multi talented and skilled. We need to have:

• excellent verbal and written communication skills,
• decision-making and problem-solving skills,
• the desire, ability and maturity required to engage in intense relationships with young people,
• the ability to be reliable and consistent, and
• the flexibility and creativity required to adopt new ways to do things.

If you're wondering where you can learn how to develop the skills to become a great child care worker, or try out the life of one, there are many opportunities to volunteer. The easiest way to find out about where to volunteer is to visit your local volunteer centre. In Calgary, call the Youth Volunteer Corps at 232-0221 or visit the Volunteer Calgary web site, or go to the office in person. You can also call any of the child service providers in your area: schools; kindergartens; play schools; day cares; YMCA; Boys and Girls clubs; or community associations. Volunteers are always welcome, but expect a rigorous application process including a personal interview, security clearance, and a carefully planned orientation.

To be successful in this career choice, we need to continually learn. If you are interested in working as a child or youth worker, you will need to start now to find opportunities where you can develop and nurture your skills and attributes. Your goal will always be to become the kind of person you would turn to when you were a child. You will want to emulate all the wonderful things that made you feel happy, safe and confident as a child.

A goal such as this is difficult to plan towards, realize or demonstrate. A very successful method for child care professionals to "prove" their ability is the use of a portfolio. A portfolio is a collection of your skills and a description of how you utilized these skills in a real life situation. So, you can show how well you communicate by including a picture of you with a young person, and write a brief description of this event. Check out a previous Hot Tip for information about portfolios.

Successful child and youth care workers genuinely enjoy working with young people, being involved in helping their clients, and finding innovative solutions to problems. It may seem difficult to develop the skills and then find ways to prove how good you are as a child care worker, but as any workers will tell you, there are many way to succeed. If you have any doubt, ask a child, they always have some interesting ideas. Good luck!