Social workers deserve a common career structure linked to a national pay scale, according to a taskforce set up to help reform the profession.
The Social Work Task Force, established in December 2008 to help improve career prospects in social care, today published a report outlining several recommendations to rebuild confidence in the profession.
Recommendations from the report included:
- Clearer career and progression structure
- The creation of a national college for social work
- Greater partnership between employers and educators
- A better understanding of supply and demand.
Children’s minister Delyth Morgan said: “From meetings with social workers and from today’s report, it is clear the profession is facing a particularly tough time at the moment and we are committed to ensuring they have the support and training they need to carry out their work effectively.”
The social care sector is notorious for lacking enough skilled professionals to carry out the work. Personnel Today‘s sister publication Community Care revealed earlier this year that one in nine social work vacancies go unfilled.
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In may, the government announced a £58m package to transform the recruitment, retention and development of the social work profession.
The plan included a new recruitment campaign specifically targeting social workers who may have left the profession to give the current workforce a boost, although HR directors questioned whether the funding would make any long-term difference.
