Advice worker
Advice workers provide free, impartial and confidential advice to their clients on a wide range of issues. Some advice workers offer general guidance in several areas, such as debt, housing, employment, welfare and education, while others specialise in a particular area.
Specialists are common in areas which require in-depth knowledge or which service a particular client group. These areas may include immigration, homelessness and drug dependency.
There are usually no restrictions on people who can use the services of an advice worker, although clients will often belong to groups with particular needs, such as refugees or people with disabilities.
The work of all advice workers is varied, but typically falls into six broad categories:
The activities involved will depend on the kind of advice provided and the seniority of the adviser, but most positions usually involve:
There are no formal degree requirements for those wishing to enter advice work, although many people do possess degrees and postgraduate or professional qualifications. The following subjects may increase your chances:
The usefulness of each degree will depend on the nature of the advice provided. A degree in finance will be beneficial for those offering advice about debt or finance, and a degree in social work will be useful for those offering advice to single parent families.
However, some degrees will be desirable for most kinds of advice work. Since most advice work will touch on legal issues, a degree in law is usually beneficial. Some universities have now started to offer degrees in advice studies, while others allow students to study advice work as part of a degree in law, typically as a one-year sandwich placement. These degrees will be useful for all kinds of advice work.
Advice work is also open to all diplomates. Any subject that gives knowledge of or demonstrates an interest in law, finance, communication or social work is useful.
However, the following subjects may increase your chances:
It is quite possible to get into advice work without a degree, as long as you have relevant experience and the necessary skills. No specific postgraduate qualification is required, but many applicants may have followed postgraduate courses in law, psychology, social work or social science.
Experience in dealing with people and running administrative systems is very important. In addition, candidates need to show evidence of the following:
Knowledge of an ethnic minority language may be useful for some posts.
Volunteer experience is an important, and sometimes essential, factor in obtaining paid employment. There can be a high level of competition for positions, as it is common for advice work to be done by volunteers.
Often, there are large numbers of people with experience and relatively few paid positions available. Developing contacts through voluntary work is a useful way of gaining employment. Sending speculative letters to organisations may also be worthwhile.
For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.
Since further or higher education qualifications are not essential for advice workers, training within the profession is very important. Organisations usually offer their own training programmes which provide general or in-depth knowledge of the areas in which they give advice. Most programmes will include basic legal training, communication and problem-solving skills. Training usually involves a combination of induction programmes, training and mentoring. The advice workers at each Citizens Advice Bureau , both voluntary and paid, are sent on an in-house accredited training course.
There are NVQ/SVQs at Level 3 and 4 in Advice and Guidance, which are run mainly at further education (FE) colleges or by private providers on a one-year part-time basis, either one evening or one afternoon a week. Most candidates do this while working, rather than before they enter the sector.
Some universities now offer foundation degrees in advice work. The degrees are designed to enable those already working in the field to build on their work experience and to gain a professional qualification.
For many advice workers, career development often involves moving away from actually providing advice, at least for part of the time. Promotion is often linked with taking on additional or different responsibilities, such as:
Although there are opportunities to move into advice centre management, in general, advice work offers relatively few numbers of management positions. Some advice centres are cooperatively run, with no hierarchical job structure.
Advice workers who enjoy client work may choose to develop their careers by taking a course in counselling. Others may choose to gain expertise in a specialised area of advice work, such as housing, debt and finance, or drug and alcohol-related problems. Others still choose to pursue opportunities and professional or academic training in a profession related to advice work such as law.
The Citizens Advice Bureau , which is the operating name of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB), is the largest network of advice centres in the independent, voluntary and charity sector. There are 416 centres in England and Wales and a further 22 in Northern Ireland.
Bureaux in Scotland belong to a separate organisation, Citizens Advice Scotland , and bureaux in Northern Ireland also belong to Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NIACAB) . The NACAB, or CAB for short, has a national workforce of 27,000 people, and the majority of these (21,000) are volunteers. There are other independent advice centres which offer general or specialist advice in a range of areas, including mental health, single parent families and homelessness.
Local authorities also employ advice workers. These can be attached to specific council departments, such as education, housing, social services, youth and community services, or consumer advice. They can also be run as general advice centres which provide advice in several areas and offer referral to specialist support if necessary.
The National Health Service (NHS) employs advice workers at community health centres and centres offering advice on health issues such as sex education, drug and alcohol dependency, dieting and smoking. Some NHS trusts work with local social services, employing staff who offer telephone advice (e.g. on issues affecting older people).
Universities, further education (FE) colleges and students' union welfare offices also employ advice workers, as do some trade unions and professional bodies.
The nature of advice work develops in response to particular issues, for example, communities dealing with large-scale redundancies, a newly arrived refugee population or individuals coping with HIV/AIDS.
Recruitment agencies rarely advertise opportunities.
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