Young leader qualification
If you're between 14 and 18, develop your leadership skills while supporting a local unit with the young leader qualification
We've updated our offer for young leaders with a new young leader development programme.
Get started with the young leader development programme today!
We launched the young leader development programme in June 2024. The young leader qualification will be retired in July 2025 - if you're currently working on it, you have until then to finish it.
Some elements of the young leader qualification directly match tasks in the young leader development programme, so you can choose to switch to the new offer, if you want.
Take a look at which elements overlap, and decide what you would like to do.
What's involved in the young leader qualification?
The young leader qualification is made up of six practical modules, which you complete at the same time as volunteering with a unit.
- Module 1: GO and sectional training – focuses on the Girlguiding membership system (GO) and learning more about the section you are working with.
For module 1 part b, the ‘Being a leader’ e-learning has been replaced by the 3 Being a leader videos in the sidebar on this page. Young leaders could also do the Programme planning e-learning on the learning platform to cover this part of the qualification.
- Module 2: Leadership – looks at different leadership styles and when you should use them, for example with girls of different ages.
- Module 3: Planning – allows you to demonstrate how well you understand the programme for the section you volunteer with. It'll help you to make sure that the programme is right for the range of ages and abilities in your unit, that all girls take part in planning the programme, and the activities are enjoyable for the girls.
- Module 4: Working with girls – allows you to demonstrate that you understand the girls you work with and can provide the best opportunities for them to grow and develop.
- Module 5: Local guiding – looks at the structure of guiding in your local area and how you're supported within this.
- Module 6: Your role in guiding – is about you showing that you understand the Promise and Law, and your commitment to guiding.
Take the lead
Download a copy of the young leader qualification workbook to get started.
You can also download a table to help you evaluate activities in your unit as part of your young leader qualification.
What can I do next?
If you’ve enjoyed being a young leader then you might like to think about becoming a unit helper or an adult leader when you’re 18. We’ve updated our leadership training and created the leader development programme, which you can start working on from your 16th birthday on our learning platform.
Although the modules in the current young leader qualification don’t map exactly to the new programme, you might be ready to jump straight to the ‘becoming a leader’ modules. You can use the ‘check your knowledge’ quiz to see what you already know.
You’ll use your knowledge and experience as a young leader to complete the programme. Have a think back to those brilliant moments where you excelled as a leader, whether that’s getting the girls to tell you about what activities they wanted to do or helping to plan their next adventure in guiding. You can refer back to these as you complete the leader development programme.
