Following on from the recommendations of the Social Work Task Force, the General Social Care Council and other policy makers, the idea of a new career path for social workers is being developed.
In trying to modernise the current system of social work education and post qualifying training, the General Social Care Council (GSCC) is inviting employers and social workers to contribute their thoughts on what level of competence should be set as the benchmark for each step up the ladder. Any mandatory training framework would need to be created on the basis of this feedback so that employers and the workforce are truly engaged in the future of the profession.
Questions over who would fund the pre and post qualifying training are key, as is the issue around the motivation to develop. Should the onus be on the social workers themselves to map their own career paths? How much involvement should employers have and how does this apply to the large proportion of social workers who are locums? In addition to this, how should the existing training framework be updated to accommodate the new projects and developments with both adults and children’s social work over the last few years?
In other areas of the public sector, workers have access to independent associations and institutes that not only maintain a professional register in the same way as the GSCC, but also provide training, opportunities for information sharing and careers advice. The new National College of Social Work is tasked with emulating this some of this within its first three years of operation. It will take more hard work from all involved to formalise new career paths for the profession but ultimately the rewards will be a dynamic, motivated, upskilled workforce that is recognised as being better able to protect vulnerable children and adults in the long term.
