Pure Potential

All About Careers - Social Care

A career in social care is one of the most rewarding you can pursue, but it can also be the most challenging emotionally. You need to be genuinely compassionate and caring, but you also need a very thick skin. People working in social care can be found working in a myriad of places: in people’s own homes, residential care units, homeless shelters or in young offender institutes. They tend to specialise in a particular area of social care, such as: youth work, domestic violence, asylum or adoption and fostering.

Social workers are mainly employed within the public sector, usually by the NHS, government or local authorities, although some do work for charities, community projects or private hospitals. Choosing to specialise either in adult or child social work, they deal with complex problems of service users with critical social needs, assessing individuals’ requirements and offering expert advice and support. There’s a lot of responsibility hanging on social workers’ shoulders. They need specialised training and so to become a social worker, you’ll need an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in social work. 

Social care is not just dominated by social workers; there are other career paths too. Social care workers are actively involved with providing personal and hands-on care to service users. They offer counselling and advice, as well as physical support for those with mobility issues. Many areas of social care also require support staff who do not provide active care functions, such as managers and administrative support staff.

People who work in the social care sector truly care about helping other people. The ability to build relationships with service users and to gain their trust is fundamental. Those wishing to work in the social care sector need bountiful patience, friendliness and fantastic communication skills. Above all, you will need to strike a balance between being as supportive as possible without getting emotionally attached. Given the number of distressing situations that you may encounter, it is vital that you are able maintain a professional distance.

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