Options with your subject: Social work

An approved social work degree is required to practise as a social worker. The skills gained are also highly relevant for a range of related social care roles...

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Social worker
• Probation officer (Northern Ireland)

Many social workers are employed by local authority children's or adult services undertaking statutory work (required by government legislation).

Local authority roles in children's teams include family support work, child protection, working with looked-after children (foster care), adoption and school attendance (education social worker). In adult teams, opportunities include mental health and substance misuse work.

Social workers also work with the elderly, those with physical or learning disabilities, in residential and day-care facilities, in criminal justice work, housing and community projects and with the homeless. It is possible to work your way up into management positions, such as safeguarding or care manager. For the range of job opportunities, see the British Association of Social Workers .

In Northern Ireland, a social work degree is required to become a probation officer.

The practical skills and work experience gained on a social work degree are also relevant to a range of other social care and advice roles:

• Adult guidance worker
• Advice worker
• Careers adviser
• Charity officer
• Community development worker
• Counsellor
• Equality and diversity officer
• Psychotherapist
• Volunteer coordinator
• Youth worker

You may need further training/qualifications or specific work experience with children or older people for some of these jobs.

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. To find out what jobs would suit you, log in to My Prospects.

Work experience

Previous work experience in an area relating to social work is extremely important for entry into the profession. This may be through paid positions or voluntary work and can include roles in community care centres, working with children or with vulnerable adults. Any roles that show you can demonstrate empathy along with a genuine desire to improve the quality of the lives of others are helpful.

An interest or participation in your local community is also useful. Relevant voluntary work may be found through Community Service Volunteers (CSV) . 

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

Most social workers are employed by local authority children's or adult services. Increasingly, however, opportunities are available with voluntary organisations or charities, such as:

• Action for Children
• Barnardo's  
• National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)  

Some social workers are employed by the National Health Service (NHS) in mental health trusts or work in community-based settings or in prisons. There are also jobs available in the private sector, such as private fostering agencies. It is also possible to do supply work for social work staffing agencies.

Find information on employers in health and social care, charities and voluntary work, and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

A social work degree includes 200 days of assessed practice to gain essential practical skills for the role of social worker and to work as part of a social care workforce, increasingly in integrated teams and alongside professionals in the NHS, schools, police and housing.

Courses cover the study of ethics, including respecting diversity and promoting social justice. You will develop skills of judgement and become more accountable, reflective, critical and evaluative.

Transferable skills gained include communication skills, analysing a situation and problem solving, managing conflict, advocacy and negotiating plans and goals. You will also develop effective time management skills.

Further study

As a social work degree is a vocational qualification preparing you for a specific role, the next step for most graduates would be a social worker role or related work.

In order to practise as a social worker, you will need to register with the:

• Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC)  in England
• Care Council for Wales  
• Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) or
• Scottish Social Services Council

You will need to re-register every two years and take part in continuing professional development (CPD), which can include post-registration training, study and conferences. In Northern Ireland, newly qualified social workers are required to spend an assessed year in practice before they can register.

To progress or specialise, there are three levels of HCPC-approved post-qualifying awards in five different areas of social work:

• children, their families and carers;
• leadership and management;
• practice evaluation;
• social work in mental health services; and
• social work with adults.

These are usually studied part time in-service.

Options for postgraduate study for those interested in other, or related, careers include community justice, social policy, social research, counselling and teaching.
 
For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see postgraduate study in the UK and search courses and research.

What do social work graduates do?

Almost 71% of social work graduates are in employment six months after finishing their course, with more than half of these employed as social and welfare professionals.

Find out what other graduates are doing six months after finishing their degrees in What Do Graduates Do?  

Graduate destinations data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

AGCAS

Written by Wendy Reed, AGCAS

Date: 

December 2011

© Copyright AGCAS & Graduate Prospects Ltd | Disclaimer