A Football Coach Is Encouraging More Men To Follow His Example And Become Child And Youth Care Workers
STEVIE MORRISON may have fallen just short of achieving Scottish Cup glory at Hampden last weekend.
But the Queen of the South coach is still hoping to achieve another goal, and that’s persuading men to take a shot at working to help young lads stay out of trouble.
Stevie wants to tackle the myth that being a youth care worker is not men’s work.
The Doonhamer’s first team coach, who has been with a host of clubs including Aberdeen, Dunfermline and Hamilton in his career as a professional footballer, is backing a campaign called Men Care Too.
It aims to persuade more males to consider working in the child and youth care sector.
Stevie, who helped to prepare the team who got so close to upsetting Rangers in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday, said: “I work in a residential care centre and, you can take it fromme, it’s definitely a job for a man.”
The Men Care Too project has been launched to combat the shortage of male child and youth care workers in Scotland. The project is supported by the European Social Fund and is being run by Kibble Education and Care Centre in Paisley.
They are offering men the chance to train and gain work experience in child and youth care.
Even those who already have a job can join the course on a part-time basis, with eight hours a week of training and eight hours a week of work experience.
Kibble’s Men Care Too project staff will hold an information and recruitment open day event at Kibble this Saturday and Sunday.
There are 78 places on the training and work experience project, with payment to the men while on work placement.
The project also offers the chance to gain an HNC and SVQ Level 3 in caring for children and young people. At the end of their training, participants will be guaranteed a job interview with Kibble or another care centre in Scotland.
Kibble, where Stevie works as a PE instructor, is the UK’s largest multiservice centre offering education, training and social welfare services to young people at risk. The 400 staff look after more than 100 boys aged from 12 to 18 on a residential and day basis.
The youngsters are referred to Kibble by the Children’s Hearing System and local authorities from all over Scotland.
Stevie, 46, said: “I have never thought that this was not a job for a man. For people to say that is a real misconception.
“Most of the boys here have had negative experiences of men in their lives, either from violence, abuse or by the absence of a male figure.
“These kids need a positive male role model and sometimes they find it easier to talk to a man. People think that the caring aspect is more a female thing, but both men and woman can care.”
Stevie added: “You get a great deal of job satisfaction out of seeing the boys you’ve helped doing well. There have been a few boys who have left Kibble and later phoned to thank me for what I have done for them. That’s really rewarding and makes the job worthwhile.”
Men Care Too project leader Patricia Walls said: “We are looking for men who are in part-time or even full-time employment and are thinking about trying out a new career. TheMen Care Too project gives them the chance to do this without the risk of having to give up their present job.”
Men interested in a career in youth care should log on to www.kibble.org/mencaretoo, email mencaretoo@kibble.org or phone 0141 889 0044.