Certificate IV in Youth Work

Skills check

You will be invited to complete a Skills Check following your application submission, before enrolling to your studies. This helps you to decide if your course is right for you and allows us to understand your current abilities in English, Maths, as well as using Digital technology. 

The recommended benchmark levels for this course are 3 in English, 3 in Maths and 3 in Digital Technology.

Access and instructions on how to complete the Skills Check will be emailed to you once you have submitted your application.

Read the Skills Check FAQs.

Selection criteria

In order to fulfill the compulsory placement requirement of this course, students must turn 18 years of age in the first semester of study.

Greater Brisbane Region - South Bank

On campus with some online: Only available to students who are in the Greater Brisbane area and willing and able to participate in industry vocational placement within 50km of the Brisbane CBD.

Traineeship pathway
​To study a traineeship program you must be indentured as a trainee with your employer.

Employers need to be able to provide necessary human and physical resources to qualify for a trainee.

Find out more on how to become an apprentice or trainee

It is recommended that you have access to a reliable internet connection to access TAFE Queensland's online learning system Connect, and a computer with up-to-date software, including Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat Reader. This equipment and software is available for use at all TAFE Queensland locations.

If you are not currently employed or volunteering in industry, during your course you will be required to complete vocational placement so you can start practising your new skills in a real-world environment. You’ll be required to work shifts determined by your placement provider, and these can include early mornings or late nights, any day of the week, including public holidays. TAFE Queensland may be able to assist in arranging suitable placements.

Completing placement is compulsory, and you will be expected to manage family and work commitments in order to complete your shifts. You are required to complete 100 hours of placement to satisfy this component of your qualification.

Blue Card
As you will be working with young people you will require a Blue Card Working with Children Check (Blue Card in Queensland).
If your check identifies that you have a criminal history, you may be disqualified from being eligible to undertake placement and assessment, which would affect your course outcomes. If you think this might impact you, please speak to the relevant Placement Coordinator for further information.

Please note: TAFE Queensland wishes to warn you, as a Blue Card applicant, that it is an offence for a disqualified person to sign a Blue Card application.  For further information regarding 'disqualified' persons, please contact Blue Card Services.  

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
Depending on where you complete your placement, you may be required to have the following:

• Online NDIS Worker Screening Clearance application at this link - NDIS Worker Screening Unit (WSU) and nominate TAFE Queensland (as their employer).  There is no cost to students. TAFE Queensland can then verify each student.
• NDIS Worker Orientation Online Modules (4 modules/approximately 90 minutes in total). Upon completion, students will need to provide their Certificate of Completion to both TAFE Queensland and their placement provider.

Please note:  You can apply for both the NDIS Worker Screening Clearance and Blue Card by completing a combined application via the NDIS Worker Screening portal noted above NDIS Worker Screening Unit (WSU).  

Vaccination requirements
Vaccinations may be required by the owner or operator of the facility providing your placement.
These requirements will be provided to the student, prior to arrangements being made for the completion of vocational placement.

Those students who have a medical contraindication may be unable to complete the vocational placement component of their course. This means you may not be able to meet all of the requirements of your course and may not be able to graduate or receive your qualification.

This course requires you to undertake role plays. Role plays will cover sensitive topics such as trauma, domestic violence, cultural diversity, mental health, and children at risk.

Online self-directed and online virtual classroom
You will need to act out, record, save, and upload role plays to TQ Connect using compatible technology. You must source participants for your role plays, with some requiring more than one participant.
Numerous role plays are required for your online course, varying in duration and complexity.
Most subjects will require you to organise consenting participants to fully address the assessment criteria in each role play to achieve a satisfactory grade.

You are expected to engage in additional personal study to meet the course requirements. Online self-directed and online virtual classroom students will need to balance work and family commitments with your studies, which may include studying on weekends and outside of normal business hours.

Each assessment task will have specific criteria that you need to meet, which will be clearly outlined in your assessment instructions.
If you are studying via the online self-directed program there will be specific open and close dates for each unit, and each assessment task will have a due date. This forms the structured part of your online course.

To be eligible for the Higher Level Skills subsidised price, you must:

• be aged 15 years or over, and be no longer at school;
• permanently reside in Queensland;
• be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident (includes humanitarian entrant), temporary resident with the necessary visa and work permits on the pathway to permanent residency, or a New Zealand citizen;
• not hold a certificate IV or higher-level qualification, not including qualifications completed at school and foundation skills training; and
• not be enrolled in another qualification, not including foundation skills training.