There are plenty of routes into social work and care – social workers are always in demand, so successive government policies have created more and more ways for people to join the ranks, ensuring there are as few bars as possible between someone thinking they want to become a social worker and actually getting involved, while, obviously, making sure people have the necessary skills and qualifications to do the job well.
People who can take three years off to study and haven’t already got a degree have the option of a full three degree, with funding available. This is a great option because it allows you the experience of university, with all the new opportunities that implies, with a nigh-guaranteed job at the end of it. If you’ve already got an undergraduate degree, or have lots of relevant experience you can convert that into relevant social work qualifications with a post graduate degree or conversion course that leaves you qualified and confident to practice and doesn’t take a full three years. Many can be done part time, to allow you to fit qualifying around other responsibilities, from work that supports you and family, to caring for a relative.
There are also vocational courses that combine study with ‘on the job training’ to get out there and working with people even faster!
Once trained, though, you have to face a similar problem to all new graduates: how do you get that first job? Where are the Social Work jobs that you’ve trained and how do you apply for them?
Fortunately, the first thing we can tell is that those jobs are there. Social Workers are very much in demand, so you should have a wide selection of starter roles to start from in the specialism and area that you want to work in.
There are a variety of ways to find those jobs – local area authorities maintain their own job posting boards, as well as individual services and institutions like hospitals and mental health units. Sorting through all of these options can be exhausting, and you might miss the perfect opportunity because you don’t check one out of a dozen job platforms. Fortunately, given the demand for social workers, plenty of specialist recruiters exist to take this onerous step out of the process. Recruiters like Sanctuary Social Care allow you to search across the country and social work disciplines to find the role that’s right for you, be it a permanent contract or temporary work!