Study title

The study surveyed youth work professionals on their views on the future of youth work and the needs of the field in Finland in 2030. The survey is part of the research project Tulevaisuuden nuorisotyön tekijät, paikat ja ympäristöt ("Workers, Places and Environments in the Future of Youth Work"). The data were produced by a network of partners: Tampere University, the University of Eastern Finland, the University of Applied Sciences, Centria University of Applied Sciences, Diakonia University of Applied Sciences, and the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences. The South Ostrobothnia Folk High School, Church Council, the Centre of Expertise for Municipal Youth Work Kanuuna, the Finnish National Youth Council Allianssi, and the Finnish Youth Research Society were also involved in the study. The study was funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. First, the respondents were asked to describe their current sector of employment within the field of youth work (e.g. digital youth work, outreach youth work, youth camps, youth clubs) and their views on which sectors of youth work will grow in importance in the future. The topics of work environments and youth work professionals in the future were examined with questions on who the respondents thought they would work in collaboration with (e.g. members of their own team, a national youth work network, teachers and other school staff, social workers, the police) as youth work professionals in 2030, and what kind of work environments they thought they would have (e.g. online spaces, public spaces favoured by youth, schools, libraries). The survey also included open-ended questions on what kind of digital work environments would be used for youth work in the future, and what other work environments and locations would be important for youth work in the future. On the topic of societal change, the respondents assessed statements from Sitra's Megatrends 2020 publication in relation to their impact on youth...