Social care : Typical employers

Big players

Local councils/public sector: local authorities have statutory responsibility for providing social care to the communities they serve. Social workers and social care staff have to operate within structured policy and legislative procedures. Local authorities can offer good opportunities to work with a variety of service user groups and offer career progression opportunities. Organisations in the public sector include the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, the Children's Workforce Development Council, HM Prison Service and NHS. 

Voluntary or 'third' sector: care staff in this sector have clearly defined roles as advocates on behalf of specific user groups. Examples of large organisations within this sector are Age Concern, Mencap and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). There are a wide variety of voluntary organisations offering salaries, training and conditions of service comparable to those provided by local authority employers. Careers in this sector offer more opportunities to work in the advocacy and counselling aspects of social care.

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

SMEs are organisations with fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover of no more than £44million. Working for a smaller company can be rewarding because you are more likely to forge a path for yourself within the company, although opportunities to try other departments may be limited.

Private sector: the majority of care providers in the private sector are SMEs and they are rapidly expanding, offering residential care, housing, fostering and adoption services. Pay and conditions of service vary tremendously and it is therefore essential to research opportunities carefully. This sector can offer residential social workers the opportunity to progress to home management roles. It is also worth noting that there are many private organisations that offer more specialist services, e.g. for hard-to-place children.

Agencies: these have become more numerous in recent years. Some London boroughs and city unitary authorities rely heavily on agency staff. The working hours and types of work available through agencies are very flexible and working this way can offer the challenge of the unknown and variety in work settings. Agency work perhaps suits more experienced workers but there are increasing opportunities for the newly trained.

Self-employment

Independent social work and social work consultancy have grown steadily over the past decade. There are two categories: those who work directly with service users; and those who work as expert witnesses or in service development, advisory, investigatory or reviewing capacities (often known as consultants). Those choosing to be self-employed also need to possess a broad range of business skills, including:

• the ability to generate work and negotiate working agreements;
• exceptional organisational skills;
• the ability to deal with self-employment matters, such as sorting out tax claims;
• networking;
• coping with the insecurity of self-employment.

Most people who take this option have already led successful careers. It is important to join the appropriate professional bodies to ensure insurance coverage and have access to professional support.

Find out more about self-employment.