Social Worker
As a Social Worker, you’ll aim to improve the lives of the people. Social Work is a profession that supports, empowers and safeguards the most vulnerable adults and children in society.
The people you work with
Social work is a collaborative profession, working with a wide range of professionals, children, adults and families. You’ll work with them to support their relationships with their families, groups and links to their community. You’ll help them to recognise their strengths, develop their skills and work with them on any challenges.
Here’s some additional information on some individuals you may work with:
Being a Social Worker
As a Social Worker you’ll carry out assessments to understand if people need care and support. You’ll work with individuals, carers and families to produce and review care and support plans.
You’ll keep records and you may write reports and attend court. You’ll need to work within the Codes of Professional Practice and take part in training or learning as part of your continuing professional development (CPD).
The qualities and values you may need are:
- good communication skills
- flexible approach to work and able to work as part of a team
- the ability to build effective relationships and develop rapport
- the ability to adapt to changing situations
- empathy, openness and honesty
- a non-judgmental attitude
- compassion, resilience and patience
- good time management and administrative skills
- computer literacy
- the ability to understand and carry out legal duties
Get into: Social work
Getting started as a Social Worker
To become a social worker you will need a social work degree. The social work degree is the professional qualification for social workers in Wales and throughout the UK. Social workers are expected to increase their knowledge and skills after they qualify.
You can study social work at graduate or post graduate levels and will need to learn about law, policy and social work theory when gaining your qualifications. Universities run programmes in partnership with local authority social work services.
To learn more about becoming a social worker you can visit Social Care Wales.
You may be eligible for a bursary. More information is available here
