Career Information for Social Work

It is important to understand that employers hire people, not degrees. The skills and knowledge you develop as a result of your education, as well as in your work and community activities, have the greatest impact on hiring decisions. Listed below are some key skills and knowledge you will acquire as a result of your university education and your focus on Social Work.

Specific Knowledge Skills
Valuable Transferable Skills
Some Career Options for Social Work
Potential Employers
Websites

Specific Knowledge Skills

• An understanding of a range of human and environmental factors and processes that influence social functioning in contemporary life
• An awareness of the range of dimensions in and preventative approaches to personal and social problems experienced by individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance psycho-social functioning
• The ability to appropriately and collaboratively assess, evaluate and understand individual, family and group behaviours and make appropriate referrals or recommendations
• Knowledge and skills to contribute to constructive institutional change and development
• Understanding of major social problems of the history of social welfare and of current Canadian and international social welfare policies and programs
• Awareness of a range of approaches and methods of social work intervention and the foundation of knowledge pertaining to applying those interventions
• Awareness of current social, community and ethical issues and relevant policies
• Knowledge of various government, community and social institutions and resources, their roles and an ability to provide information and direction to assist in making informed decisions
• The ability to gather relevant information, assess situations and analyze needs
• Awareness of and sensitivity to the impact of government policies, economic inequities and ideologies related to culture, class, gender and race on individuals and communities
• The ability to apply critical thinking and reflective analysis in the interest of social justice
• The interpersonal competency to combine self-insight with critical analysis of one’s role as a social worker in order to give fair consideration to the impact of power relations and identity in the practice of social work

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Valuable Transferable Skills

Information-gathering and Communication Skills

• The skills required to identify and access a wide range of relevant information and resources
• The ability to compile and organize facts and information and to comprehend and apply new and/or unfamiliar information to different situations and settings
• Skills in preparing interesting, creative and informative presentations which target diverse audiences
• The ability to develop effective reports, presentations and materials using current technology

Thinking, Planning and Organizational Skills

• The ability to learn, understand and interpret information and apply knowledge to new situations
• The ability to set priorities, meet deadlines and effectively plan/manage time, data and resources
• Problem-solving skills and the ability to make well-reasoned decisions, think creatively and search for, identify and consider all sides of an issue
• Skills to effectively analyze and interpret a wide range of information and data to discuss, support and/or reject ideas, opinions, reports, theories and proposals

Teamwork and Management Skills

• Skills enabling you to work effectively as part of a team by identifying your role and contributing, through leading, teaching, motivating and/or encouraging others, to the objectives of the team
• An understanding of how to successfully identify, plan and contribute to the goals of a team/project
• The ability to oversee, supervise and/or contribute to a project from beginning to end including determining outcomes, planning details, making decisions, assigning roles and completing
  tasks

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Some Career Options for Social Work

(Additional education, training or experience may be required)

 For more career options and job descriptions, visit the following sites:

Career Cruising - www.careercruising.com. Please contact the Career Centre at 519.884.0710 ext. 4495 or careercentre@wlu.ca for the username and password.
Career Insider (Vault) - Access through the library website at www.wlu.ca/library. Click ’Find Articles and More’, click ’Databases by Title (A-Z)’ and then ’C’ - Career Insider (Vault). You need to access this resource from a Laurier computer or through the library’s remote access service.
National Occupational Classification - www.hrsdc.gc.ca/noc  

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 Potential Employers

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Websites

Access to Justice Network 
Canadian Association of Social Workers 
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives 
Canadian Council on Social Development 
Council on Social Work Education 
International Development Research Centre 
International Federation of Social Workers 
International Sociological Association 
Ontario Association of Social Workers 
Ontario College of Social Work and Social Services Workers 
Society for Social Work and Research

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