Job summary

Job description

This role is not eligible for new Skilled Worker visas in accordance with the current immigration rules.

From 22 July 2025, the Government introduced changes to the Skilled Worker visa route. The department cannot consider sponsoring you for this role unless you have held a Skilled Worker visa prior to the 22 July 2025 changes. If you have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously, please raise this during your vetting checks and eligibility will be assessed in accordance with the immigration rules and transitional provisions in place.

If you are applying for this role and you have not held a Skilled Worker visa prior to the 22 July 2025 changes, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK in light of these changes. Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

The Department will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here.

Someone like you

The Youth Custody Service is transforming its workforce, and we invite you to be part of this journey. The youth justice worker role is similar to that of a prison officer but specifically focused on supporting children and young people in custody. This role is vital in reshaping how young people are cared for in custodial environments.

We are seeking individuals with a special ability to support and guide young people. In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring the security and safety of children while providing day-to-day support in a custodial setting. Comprehensive training and development will equip you with the knowledge to understand the diverse backgrounds and individual circumstances of young people in custody, and how your responses in complex or dynamic situations can help these individuals build better futures.

An extraordinary job

This role will be dealing with the practical side of life for children in custody which includes, but is not limited to, interventions when required, overseeing, and facilitating safe movement around the site, and providing supervision to ensure safety.

You will be working with children and young people who may have committed serious offenses, come from challenging backgrounds, and/or have mental health needs. These young individuals may test boundaries, but they also have significant potential for positive change. You will play a significant part in providing them with opportunities to better their future.

Job details

Essential Skills

No formal qualifications are required to become a youth justice worker; personal qualities are what matter most. You should demonstrate:

• Strong communication and influencing skills
• Commitment to high standards of care and service
• Effective decision-making abilities
• Empathy and understanding

As a practitioner, you will work with children, young people, and their families or carers to help achieve meaningful and lasting changes in their lives. You will:

• Show a passion for supporting children, young people, and families
• be skilled in identifying and assessing the complex needs of the children and young people you work with
• collaborate with young people, their families, or carers to agree on interventions or referrals that support their needs
• handle interventions when necessary, including de-escalating situations, managing behavioural issues, and applying conflict resolution techniques
• approach your work with respectful curiosity, balancing challenge and support to help young people reach their potential and stay safe
• work closely with other professionals and organisations to collectively improve outcomes

Each case will be unique, and you will need to exercise sound judgment, using evidence-based approaches to inform your practice. You will continuously evaluate the effectiveness of your actions and methods. Regular supervision with an experienced practitioner will help you reflect on and improve your practice. By the end of your apprenticeship, the high standard of your work will be making a genuine difference to the lives of those you support.

Find out more about being a youth justice worker.

Eligibility

To be a youth justice worker you must:

• be at least 18 years old at the point you commence employment

• meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements (see nationality requirements section below)

• as this is a physically active job, you will need to pass a medical and fitness assessment as part of the application process

• meet the required eyesight standard in both eyes (both with and without corrective lenses)

• · For safety reasons, everyone training to be a prison officer needs a suitable standard of hearing (without the use of hearing aids)
• · Whilst tattoos are permitted, including those that are visible, they must not be deemed as offensive, discriminatory, violent, or intimidating in any way. Facial tattoos are generally not acceptable, except where this is for cultural, religious, or medical reasons.

Travel to Work

Some prison establishments are situated in rural locations with limited public transport options; therefore, a driving licence and own transport is beneficial but is not an essential requirement of the role (unless specified). Please note that shift start, and finish times are fixed, and it is your responsibility to get to and from your place of work on time for the start of your shift. Please carefully consider the location of this vacancy and your transport options before applying.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules .

Successful applicants must ensure they have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom.

Pay

The initial training is 37 hours a week. After training, you ...