YCW: ‘Young people need Good Work!’

Phil Callaghan, National President of the YCW said: "We have spent a long time consulting our members and listening to their concerns. There is undoubtedly a real anxiety amongst young people about their current and future job prospects. We believe that work should promote the God-given dignity of the human person, which can only happen when the work is good and wholesome."

He continued "good work is a vital way of enabling young people to make a contribution to the society and community in which they live as well as furthering their own skills and personal development."

The YCW have learned from the experiences of its members that the young unemployed or those who are not respected in the workplace are in danger of considering themselves as worthless and of no use to society. Some even believe that they are a burden on the state, an idea which is often portrayed throughout the media.

With youth unemployment currently standing at almost one million and the economic outlook bleak, the sense of worthlessness and the isolation felt by young people as a consequence of unemployment is only going to escalate. While the YCW knows that the right to work is crucial for the development of a young person, we also know that it is wrong for society to brand young unemployed as worthless.

As youth unemployment rises there is an unfortunate and unintended consequence of portraying some young people as the undeserving unemployed. All young people deserve to be treated with dignity, worth and respect. The YCW exists to present the fact that all young people, despite their employment status, have something valuable to offer to their community and society as a whole.

The YCW in England and Wales is part of the International Coordination of Young Christian Workers based in Rome. The YCW works in over 60 countries and has over a million members. They are regularly in contact with three million young people. The YCW was founded in Belgium by Fr (later Cardinal) Joseph Cardijn and was officially recognised by the Church in 1925 (by Pope Pius XI).

The YCW is an organisation for young people run by young people, among young people, promoting their dignity and worth. The YCW believes that each young person is worth more than all the gold in the world and is committed to the principles of the Gospel, seeking to be at the service of all the young. The YCW has two age ranges: 'Impact' is aimed at secondary school children (13-17 yr olds) while YCW is aimed at 16-30 year

For more information see: www.ycwimpact.com