Beyond rhetoric: reasserting the importance of professional ethics and values in the vocational and educational training of youth support workers in challenging times.

In the austerity drive affecting most helping services in the UK and other North Atlantic countries, this article asserts the importance of professional ethics and values in the training of youth support workers. It asks for a pro-active and self-aware approach when wrestling with ethical problems and ethical dilemmas. Professional ethics and values are explored in terms of their function within youth support training and practice that aims to place the needs of the young person as the focus of the work. The article offers a critical discussion on principles; alongside policy, legislation and practical implications within a target driven environment. The context for the discussion is sited within multi-professional and multi-agency young people’s services in England. However, the focus on education and training concerning ethics and values will be of interest elsewhere; as high levels of youth unemployment and social exclusion create circumstances where practitioners make difficult decisions in challenging times.