18 December 2025
The power of skilled youth work: Girvan Youth Trust.
William Grant Foundation
Key learnings:
- Youth work is a highly skilled profession requiring training, adaptability, and strong relationship-building skills.
- Flexibility and variety are essential to meet young people’s changing needs and interests.
- Strong partnerships with schools and local employers help create positive pathways for young people.
- Long-term, unrestricted funding enables organisations to plan ahead, retain skilled staff, and respond quickly to emerging needs.
Girvan Youth Trust (GYT) has been a cornerstone of support for young people living in and near the South Ayrshire town of Girvan since 1999. The charity runs a wide range of projects to help young people thrive. These include youth clubs, wellbeing groups, and employability programmes. GYT also runs enterprises that give young people work experience while serving locals and visitors.
GYT offers powerful lessons about why youth work matters and what makes it effective. And their experience shows that when youth work is recognised as a skilled profession it can change lives and strengthen communities.
Working in partnership
William Grant & Sons’ support for GYT predates the founding of the William Grant Foundation in 2014 and included assistance to open their physical base in the town, the Z1 Youth Bar, in 2008. The Foundation now continues the relationship through our Youth Opportunities strand.
Young people getting active and having fun with an interactive dance game at Z1 Youth Bar.
This includes funding for Project Search – an employability programme for young people with additional support needs – and an unrestricted grant that can be used for the general purposes of the organisation.
Project Search combines classroom learning with real-world work placements in partnership with Ayrshire College, NHS Ayrshire & Arran, and the National Trust. It helps young people aged 17–29 gain confidence and skills through supported placements in hospitality, retail, and heritage settings.
Alongside Project Search, GYT runs a wide range of other projects:
- Life’s a Journey – promoting volunteering and life skills, including wellbeing support for young people experiencing anxiety.
- Streetlights – detached youth work on the streets, building trust with those who don’t engage in school or the youth club, and running diversionary activities like Friday Night Football.
- Z1 Youth Bar and social enterprises – six nights of youth clubs in GYT’s three-level youth hub in Girvan, plus volunteering opportunities in the youth bar and charity shop.
Building skills and confidence
The charity shop is a great example of how GYT equips young people with practical skills. Volunteers learn everything from operating tills and steaming clothes to managing stock rotation and customer service. These experiences prepare young people for the world of work, creating skills that last far beyond their time at the youth club.
As Amy Bisset, one of GYT’s Project Coordinators, says,
“It’s not just about giving them something to do – it’s about building confidence. When they leave here, they know how to talk to people, handle money, and turn up on time. Those things make a huge difference.”
Beyond this, young people also take the lead in running Girvan’s boating pond – putting them front and centre as the face of a seasonal activity in the town.
An enticing window display to draw customers into the Girvan Youth Trust charity shop.
Why variety and flexibility matter
GYT’s approach is rooted in flexibility. Programmes are shaped by young people themselves through regular conversations, ensuring activities reflect their interests and needs. From cooking sessions in the industrial kitchen to karaoke nights, drop-ins, and trips, the offer is constantly evolving.
This adaptability is crucial in communities like Girvan and the surrounding area of South Carrick, where opportunities can be limited and needs change quickly. Being able to respond – whether that’s adding a new activity or shifting focus to different aspects of wellbeing – keeps young people engaged and supported.
Youth work is skilled work
One of the biggest misconceptions about youth work is that it’s easy. In reality, it’s a highly skilled role requiring training, safeguarding knowledge, and the ability to handle complex situations. Youth workers need to be adaptable – ready to switch from cooking to crisis support to leading games – and able to build trust with young people and professional partners alike.
Amy puts it simply:
“Sometimes you’re playing rounders, sometimes you’re supporting someone through something really intense. You need to be a safe pair of hands, and you can’t just hire anyone to do this work.”
Youth workers at GYT are often the bridge between young people and wider support networks. Their relationships with schools, community safety teams, and employers help improve communications with young people and create pathways that change lives.
The holy grail of unrestricted funding
For GYT, securing unrestricted funding (from grants that can be used flexibly rather than restricted to certain costs or projects) is the holy grail. It allows the team to respond quickly, plan ahead, and seize opportunities. As Amy says:
“Unrestricted funding lets us move when we need to. It means I can sleep at night because I’m not lying awake wondering how to pay wages. When we secure unrestricted funding, we literally do a wee dance in the office. It’s not just practical – it improves our wellbeing too.”
It’s the simple things
Among all the practical skills and opportunities young people gain through volunteering in GYT’s charity shop or work experience through Project Search, there’s also lots of simple stuff that matters just as much. Midweek Munch is a good example. It’s a weekly meal club where young people share a home-cooked meal, and one of GYT’s most popular activities. For some young people, this is their family dinner.
Midweek Munch captures what GYT is all about: warmth, connection, and belonging. It reminds us that while skills and qualifications open doors, sometimes one of the most powerful things you can offer a young person is a seat at the table and someone to share it with.
