What is a Social Worker and how do you become one?

What is a Social Worker and how do you become one?

Social Workers are professionals who aim to improve overall well-being and help meet basic and complex needs of communities and the people they support. A Social Worker will work with people to find solutions to their problems including helping to protect vulnerable people from harm and abuse. You’ll work with clients, their families, and others around them, helping them live their lives more successfully.

Some client groups include:

• The elderly
• Children with disabilities
• Teenagers with mental health problems
• Young offenders
• Adults with learning disabilities, mental health problems or physical disabilities
• People with alcohol, drug, or other substance misuse problems
• Refugees and asylum seekers
• Families at risk of breaking down
• Children who need to live apart from their families
• Foster carers and adopters
• Children who are at risk of abuse or neglect
• Carers

And you may choose to specialise in a particular group where your role can involve:

• Visiting clients wherever they are (which could be at home or in, for example, a care home, hospital, hostel, or prison)
• Assessing clients' needs
• Organising support
• Making referrals to other services and agencies
• Keeping detailed records
• Attending meetings

As mentioned, you will work with the service users,their families, and people around them, but you will also work other agencies including local authority departments, schools, probation services and the police. All agencies mentioned are paramount in ensuring the service users care and best outcome.

Social Workers can work in a variety of settings including hospitals, healthcare centres, or an office (when working for a local council) and usually with a team of other social workers. You will spend a lot of time visiting clients, usually in their homes or other places of residence.If you are a children’s social worker, a neutral environment such as a school or nursery is preferred.

What are the entry requirements?

You first need to successfully complete an approved degree or postgraduate programme in social work. Courses take three- or four-years full time, and a degree apprenticeship in social work has also been approved for delivery. Courses differ but all will include the fundamentals of social work which are:

• Law as it applied to social work
• Ethics and values
• Assessments and interventions
• Mental health, disability, and other issues
• Practical work with clients and placements in social work settings

To get on to a social work degree course you usually need two or three A levels along with five GCSEs (grades 4-9/A-C) Alternative qualifications may include; BTEC, HND or HNC, a relevant NVQ, health - or social care - based access course or equivalent Scottish or Irish qualifications (click each country to find out more about their entry requirements) If you already have a degree in another subject, there are several routes for you to become a social worker:

• Take postgraduate qualification (Diploma or Masters) in social work. Courses take two years full time or up to six years part time.
• Train through Step up to Social Work which takes 14 months and combines work and study
• Apply for the Front line 2-year programme combining study with supervised practical work in child protection
• Apply for the 2-year Think Ahead fast-track scheme to become a mental health social worker. The scheme blends academic learning with extensive on-the-job experience

Once you have completed your approved course you must register with Social Work England which is a specialist regulator focused on enabling positive change in social work. Once registered as a practitioner, you’ll be required to retain your name on the register by keeping your knowledge and skills up to date and paying an annual retention fee.

What characteristics are needed?

Social workers need to be patient, caring, empathetic people who can take the time to get the communication right. To keep up with their caseloads, social workers must be organised. If you are someone who tackles problems head on, you are likely to succeed as a social worker. You’ll also need to:

• Be able to work under pressure
• Deal with very challenging behaviour
• Organise your own workload
• Be understanding of other people’s lifestyles
• Work with people from all walks of life
• Be happy visiting people where they live

As well as:

• Organisation skills
• Empathy (able to see things from other points of view)
• Relationship-building skills
• Resilience
• Problem-solving skills
• Motivational skills

Ongoing training and development

Social workers are required to attend further training and courses to keep their skills and knowledge up to date. Many social workers join the BASW (British Association of Social Workers) where they can access courses, conferences, and seminars as well as exchanging ideas with fellow practitioners to stay in line with their CPD (continuing professional development)requirements. For more on CPD, see here for an earlier blog post explaining the process.

How much can you expect to be paid?

There are no fixed national salary comparisons, but a newly qualified social worker can expect to earn between £24,000 - £30,000 depending on the local authority and location. Senior posts such as team manager, commissioning manager and head of service could be looking at between £42,500 and £61,490 per year. As mentioned, salaries are dependent on location, banding, and local authorities.

For more information on what it takes to be a social worker, please visit:

• Social Work England
• British Association of Social Workers
• Working in social care

Click here to see what opportunities we have available for social workers. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Give us a call on 01473939670 where a friendly and dedicated member of the social care team will be able to connect you to your next opportunity.

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