In the Australian vocational education and training (VET) context, attention is often given to what youth work training programs should consist of, resulting in less attention on how youth work education and training programs might be imagined, constructed and implemented. In this paper, a particular South Australian youth work training program is explored with the purpose of investigating the particular educational methodology employed and its impact in the structuring and delivery of a VET youth work education program. It emphasises that, in conceiving a competency-based youth work curriculum and its contribution toward the development of professional youth work identities, how the youth work educational program is delivered is just as important as what it should consist of.