Social Personnel collaborates with UNITAS to build stronger pathways in Youth Justice

Social Personnel is proud to have partnered with Unitas, a specialist provider of Youth Justice education and training across the UK. Together, we aim to support workforce development by connecting professional learning with career opportunities for practitioners and Youth Justice Services.

Creating Clear Entry Routes into Youth Justice

A key focus is the Youth Justice Apprenticeship, delivered by Unitas. This levy-funded programme provides a practical, 18–25 month pathway into Youth Justice. Designed with flexible, portfolio-based assessment, it offers an accessible route for new or early-career professionals and helps local authorities grow their teams sustainably.

Through this collaboration, Social Personnel will work closely with youth justice services to connect suitable candidates to apprenticeship opportunities, strengthening workforce pipelines for local authorities across the UK.

The Backbone Qualification: Youth Justice Effective Practice Certificate

Unitas’ Youth Justice Effective Practice Certificate (YJEPC) remains the sector’s mainstay qualification and is widely requested by Local Authorities and other employers. Running four cohorts per year, this 30-week programme is underpinned by theory, practice, and evidence, and is assessed by assignment only.

For practitioners, it enhances credibility and supports progression, and for local services, it ensures teams are equipped with recognised, high-quality training.

A Full Career Progression Pathway

Beyond entry routes and core qualifications, Unitas offers degree programmes, CPD courses, and a Masters pathway for those progressing into senior leadership and Heads of Service roles The Social Personnel and Unitas partnership allows us to align professional development with employment opportunity, creating a clear pathway from training through to career progression within Youth Justice.

An additional benefit of the collaboration is the opportunity to further support local authorities investing in workforce development. Where candidates complete courses through Unitas and are then placed into a Youth Justice Service by Social Personnel, the receiving local authority may be offered discounted access to further training courses for their existing staff. This approach helps create a shared learning and development ecosystem, supporting both new entrants into the sector and the continued professional development of existing teams.

This collaboration reflects Social Personnel and UNITAS' shared commitment to strengthening the sector, supporting professional growth, and helping local authorities build confident, qualified, and future-ready teams.

If you would like to learn more about training opportunities or recruitment support within Youth Justice, please get in touch with our team: opportunities@socialpersonnel.com or speak to Joey Makin: joey@socialpersonnel.com