Jump start

Get hands-on experience

A career in youth work is an opportunity to support young people and help shape their lives.

The Top Blokes Traineeship Program – supported by Ronald Geoffrey Arnott Foundation – is your gateway.

Youth work is rewarding and fun – but it can also be challenging. That’s why we created the Traineeship Program to meaningfully support young adults looking to gain the practical skills and qualifications to make a real impact on the lives of young people.

Skills and Impact

The lowdown

Gain a Cert IV in Youth Work while you work directly with boys and young men across schools and community groups. Earn while you learn through real-world experience in a supportive and fun culture, all while being supported by expert guidance from our team.

Meet Trainee Hayden

from Participant to Mentor

Through the 18-week program, Hayden discovered his own potential and the power of having someone believe in you. “I realised people saw something in me I didn’t see in myself,” he shared.

He joined Top Blokes as a Trainee Youth Worker, undertaking a Certificate V in Youth Work at TAFE and spending a year with Top Blokes to gain practical, hands-on experience. Now a fully qualified Youth Worker, he reflects the organisation’s mission: to empower young men to become positive leaders in their communities.

Read Hayden's story

I’m keen, What’s Next?


Sign up to our newsletter to find out when the next round of applications will open or email [email protected] to express your interest.

The influence that the boys in our room have on each other definitely expands out to their community in a really positive way.

The boys’ influence on each other positively impacts the community.

Vin, for anyone who hasn’t heard of it, what is Lift the Load? Lift the Load for Mental Health is a month-long challenge to wear a 10kg vest and walk or run 50km across October. It symbolises helping lift the weight of mental health that young men around us in our community carry every day.  […]

Read More

The work behind the vest: why Michael lifts the load.

Michael is a youth worker and Regional Coordinator with the Top Blokes Sydney team. Every week, he sees what can happen when boys and young men are given consistent space to talk, reflect and be heard. We spoke with him about why Lift the Load for Mental Health matters to him, the impact he sees in the classroom, […]

Read More

What actually draws young men towards harmful ideas. and how to pull them back.

At the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, two Top Blokes set out what radicalisation really looks like for young men today, and what an effective response requires. Antisemitism, radicalisation and extremism are usually discussed in the abstract – as ideologies, as threats, as things to be countered. What’s harder to find is a […]

Read More