Page Content
Job profiles
Social worker
Hours
30-40 per week
Starting salary
£19,500 + per year
If you want to make a positive difference in the community, a career as a social worker could be a perfect choice for you.
To become a social worker you will need to study a three-year undergraduate degree or a two-year postgraduate degree in social work that is approved by the General Social Care Council (GSCC). You will also need to pass background checks by the Criminal Records Bureau.
As a qualified social worker your job will be to relate to people of all ages and backgrounds and be able to gain their trust, in order to help them. Often you’ll be put in situations where your tact, patience and understanding will be needed and you’ll need to assess and cope with these situations in a non-judgemental way.
WorkDesc
The work
As a social worker, you would provide people with advice and emotional support, and arrange care services to help people.
You could support a wide range of social service users, including:
- children and parents under pressure
- older people
- people with physical or learning disabilities
- people with mental health problems
- young adults
- homeless people
- people leaving hospital who need help to live independently
- people with drug or alcohol dependency.
You would normally specialise in working with children and families, or with adult service users. In either case, your job would include:
- assessing and reviewing a client's situation
- building relationships with service users and their families
- responding to requests for help
- agreeing what practical support someone needs (or making decisions for them when necessary, such as in child protection cases)
- offering information, counselling and advocacy
- organising and managing support packages
- taking part in team meetings, supervision and case conferences
- working closely with other health and social care professionals
- keeping records and writing reports
- contacting and making referrals to other agencies
- giving evidence at court hearings, if necessary.
HoursDesc
Hours
In many jobs you would mainly work standard office hours with some nights on call, on a rota basis. If you worked in a residential setting you would be more likely to work shifts as part of a team providing a 24-hour service. Part-time hours and job sharing are often available.
Your time would be split between an office and other locations such as service users' homes, day and residential centres, hospitals and health centres.
IncomeDesc
Income
Starting salaries are often around £19,500 to £25,000 a year.
With more experience and responsibility, this can rise to between £26,000 and £40,000.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
EntryRequirementsDesc
Entry requirements
To become a social worker in England, you will need to take a three-year undergraduate degree or a two-year postgraduate degree in social work that is approved by the General Social Care Council (GSCC). Many university courses are full-time, although some work-based routes with part-time study may also be available.
You will typically need the following qualifications in order to study for an undergraduate degree in social work:
- five GCSEs (A-C) including English and maths
- at least two A levels, or an equivalent such as a BTEC National Diploma or NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care.
However, you should check entry requirements as colleges and universities may accept alternatives like an Access to Higher Education qualification or substantial relevant work experience (paid or voluntary).
If you already have a degree, you could do a two-year postgraduate Masters degree in social work. All postgraduate Masters degrees in social work need to be applied for via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
During your social work training, you will divide your time between studying and 200 days of supervised work placements. You would be trained to work with a range of service user groups, so that you could offer varied experience to future employers when you start work.
See the GSCC website for details of approved social work courses in England.
You could also check The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and College of Social Work websites for general information.
When you apply for social work training, you should ideally already have some paid or voluntary experience in a social work or care setting. This is particularly useful if social work is a change of career for you. You can get more information and search for volunteering opportunities on the Do-it website.
For any job where you would be working (paid or unpaid) with children or vulnerable adults, you will need to pass background checks by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). Previous convictions or cautions may not automatically prevent you from this type of work. See the following website for full details.
For information on how to qualify as a social worker in Northern Ireland, see the
Northern Ireland Social Care Council website.
Employment-based routes
Some local authorities may sponsor employees already working for them in a social care support role to take the social work degree part-time or through distance learning. Some local authorities also recruit people directly into work-based training schemes for new social workers. Check in your local area to see if schemes like these are available.
Financial help
If an employer is not sponsoring you for a social work degree, you may be eligible for financial help for studying. Contact the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) for information.
TrainingAndDevelopmentDesc
Training and development
As a newly-qualified social worker you must join the General Social Care Council (GSCC) social care register. You will also need to renew your registration every three years so that you can continue practising. To do this, you must keep your knowledge and skills up to date throughout your career.
There is a Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) Programme, which is a structured programme of training and support for new social workers in children's settings or in adult services.
Visit the Department for Education or Skills for Care websites for more about the NQSW.
Part of the current GSCC registration renewal process involves showing that you have taken part in a set amount of professional training and development during that time. One way to achieve this is to study for a post-qualifying (PQ) award in social work.
You can progress through three levels of PQ award, which are:
- Specialist Social Work
- Higher Specialist Social Work
- Advanced Social Work.
At each level you can specialise in one of five areas of social work, including mental health, and children and families. You can study for the awards full-time or part-time at universities, or through work-based learning.
Most employers also offer regular training and opportunities to take day release or distance learning courses. See the GSCC website for more information on PQ training and registration.
SkillsAndKnowledgeDesc
Skills and knowledge
As a social worker you will need to have:
- excellent communication and 'people' skills
- the ability to relate to people of all ages and backgrounds and gain their trust
- a practical and flexible approach to work
- tact, patience and empathy
- an understanding of the needs of different client groups
- a non-judgemental attitude
- the ability to work in a team and also use your own initiative
- the ability to assess situations and take appropriate action
- resilience - for coping with difficult situations and challenging clients
- good time management and organisational skills
- computer literacy and administrative skills.
MoreInformationDesc
More information
General Social Care Council 
2 Hay's Lane
London SE1 2HB
Registration helpline: 0845 070 0630
Skills for Care (England)
Albion Court 5
Albion Place Leeds
LS1 6JL
Tel: 0113 245 1716
www.skillsforcare.org.uk
Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC)
www.niscc.info
Care Council for Wales (CCW)
www.ccwales.org.uk
Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
www.sssc.uk.com
NHS Business Services Authority
(NHSBSA) Social Work Bursary
Tel: 0845 610 1122
www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Students
OpportunitiesDesc
Opportunities
Most opportunities are with local authorities, although you could also work for:
- charities
- voluntary agencies
- private care homes
- social work agencies
- NHS trusts
- prisons.
Jobs may be advertised in the local and national press, on employers' websites and by specialist recruitment agencies.
When you have about three years’ experience, you could progress to senior positions such as team leader or care service manager.
You may find the following useful for vacancies and general reading (links open in new window):
Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.
We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.
LMIData
Related industry information
Industry summary
Adult social care is part of the sector represented by Skills for Care, which is one of the partners that comprise Skills for Care and Development Sector Skills Council. This includes those working in early years, children and young people’s services, and those working in social work and social care for children and adults in the UK. The social care sector comprises two sub-sectors:
- Adult social care – with a workforce of nearly 1.5 million, accounting for 5% of England’s workforce, and 38,000 employers
- Children and young people – with an estimated workforce of 2.7 million
During 2007/08, approximately 2.3 million adults used publicly funded social work and social care services in the UK. Adult social care includes residential care, domiciliary care and social work with all its specialism's.
There are an estimated 1.5 million workers providing adult social care services and more than 38,000 employers. Skills for Care are responsible for the training standards and development needs of social work and social care staff working with adults in England. This includes staff working in local authority social services and related services, the regulated sector (care homes, domiciliary care services and home nursing services), non-regulated day care and community care services, and employed by individuals for their own or another person’s care and support.
Key facts:
- Of the 1.39 million in adult social care in England: 1.31 million are directly employed; and 78,000 are bank, pool and agency staff, students and others
- The adult social care workforce can also include:
- 25,460 full-time equivalent social workers
- 14,000 learning mentors
- 2,247 educational psychologists
- Of the 14,456 care-only homes registered with CSCI at June 2007:
- 9,870 (68%) are private sector
- 3,251 voluntary sector
- most of the remaining are operated by councils
- Most social care services (58%) are provided by micro organisations (or agencies) employing between 1-10 people or small enterprises (29%) employing between 11-49 people.
- 12% of social care enterprises employ 50-99 people and 1% employ 200 or more.
- In 2007, 54,151 individuals were receiving direct payments to fund their own care.
Jobs in adult social care include: administrative staff, ancillary staff, care workers, community support and outreach workers, counsellors, first-line managers, occupational therapists, registered managers, senior care workers, senior management, social workers, supervisors, technicians.
National and regional data
[N.B. National and regional data are currently unavailable.]
Career paths
Further sources
View full Job market information
Other sectors and industries relevant to this job
News
