Social care

Examples of roles in this sector include:

• Adult Guidance Worker
• Advice worker
• Community Development Worker
• Community Education Officer
• Counsellor
• Equality & Diversity Officer
• Family Support Worker
• Play Therapist
• Probation officer
• Social worker
• Youth worker

Further information about these jobs, and others in this sector, can be found under Graduate Jobs in Social Care on the Prospects website. For an overview of the sector, see Prospect’s Social Care webpage. You can also find out about the range of roles within social care on the Skills for Care careers webpage.

Skills needed

Relevant experience is usually necessary (see below), however, the fundamental skills needed for most roles include:

• patience and the ability to remain calm in a crisis
• resilience
• flexibility to adapt to new roles, tasks and situations
• initiative
• strong observation, analytical and listening skills
• the capacity to absorb legal/procedural information
• the ability to negotiate/mediate/interpret on behalf of clients

Getting experience

If you haven’t previously worked in a social care-related role, volunteering is an excellent way to explore the world of social work and social care, and to demonstrate your ability and enthusiasm when you’d like to take it further.

There are plenty of volunteering opportunities available at Oxford:

• Oxford Hub is the focal point for students interested in social and charitable causes in Oxford. They give students advice on volunteering opportunities based on their areas of interest. You might also wish to sign up for ‘The Week’, their regular email of opportunities.

There are also opportunities directly with charities, such as:

• Turning Point - you can also receive email alerts for their current job vacancies via their website
• Mencap
• NSPCC
• Barnardos
• Red Cross
• Toynbee Hall

In addition general volunteering can often demonstrate similar skills:

• Volunteering Matters offers a range of voluntary opportunities.
• Do IT or Vinspired have  details of volunteering opportunities in your area and also visit the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
• Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action.

It is worth checking the vacancies on our website by logging in to CareerConnect and searching by the job function ‘Health and Social Care’. Also come to our Careers Fairs as local organisations which offer part-time and full-time care work sometimes attend.

For more information on getting a graduate job in social work see the TargetJobs Guide and also search their job vacancies which are listed by sector.

If you do arrange work experience, there is often confusion about whether you should be paid to do an internship or work experience. It will depend on your arrangement with the employer and also the status of the employer. To find out if you are entitled to be paid when undertaking work experience or an internship, visit the Government’s webpages on the National Minimum Wage.

Given the wide range of roles in social care, the entry requirements vary considerably, and further qualifications may be necessary for some roles (eg. counsellor, play therapist and social worker), whilst for other jobs building up relevant experience is more important than further study (eg. advice worker, community development worker, community education officer). Further information about entry points across the sector can be found at Graduate Jobs in Social Care on the Prospects website.

Social work

To enter the field of Social Work the qualifications you have need to be accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council, HCPC  - you can search for approved courses on the HCPC website.

For all courses relevant experience is vital (see ’Getting Experience’ below).

Bursaries are available to train as a social worker and these are administered by the NHS Business Services Authority. If you have any queries about bursaries or student funding - for instance, if you wish to know whether you will be entitled to a bursary, or how to apply for one - then you should visit their website or call them on 0300 330 1342.

A small number of these courses are for those currently in employment and training to be a social worker. Bursaries are not available for these courses.

Graduate Schemes

Approach Social Work is a three year programme run by Frontline for graduates wishing to become children’s social workers. In the first year you will receive a bursary alongside intensive on-the-job training and education, followed by the second year when you'll be in a paid role working as a newly qualified social worker. You will complete a master's degree over the three years. Keep an eye on their website - where you can sign up for updates - for application details and deadlines. They also offer graduate 6 month internships with their recruitment team  - these are usually advertised around January time. Frontline often attend the annual Oxford University Careers Fair in October.

Step Up to Social Work is a 14 month tailored training programme designed for graduates or career changers which enables trainees to work towards a qualification (Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work) to practise as a social worker whilst gaining intensive hands-on experience. Trainees will have their course fees paid for and bursaries are available as well. The programme usually starts in January, with applications made by early April of the previous year.

In this sector, application may be in the form of an application form or a CV and cover letter. See also our webpage on the Use of AI in Job Applications and Assessments. 

Books

• Becoming a Social Worker – Global Narratives, Viviene E. Cree
• Starting Social Work – Reflections of a Newly Qualified Social Worker, Rebecca Joy Novell

Sector vacancies and information

• British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Jobs
• Skills for Care (adult social care)
• Community Care - Social care information and vacancies
• Society Guardian - search for social care vacancies
• Charity Job - Charity sector job site with subsections for social care
• Third Sector: Jobs -  from Third Sector magazine
• Approach Social Work (run by Frontline)
• Step Up to Social Work
• Care.com - includes vacancies in special care need, elderly care and more
• Homeless Hostel Jobs - vacancies in the homeless sector 

Regulators, associations and institutions

• British Association of Social Workers
• The Health and Social Care Professions Council - HCPC, is the regulator of the social work profession in England
• The Care Quality Commission - is the independent regulator of health and social care in England
• Safeguarding and Social Care for Children
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
• National Youth Agency (NYA) - advice about careers in youth work

General vacancies

• Prospects
• TARGETjobs
• Jobs.ac.uk
• Guardian: Jobs
• Telegraph: Jobs
• The Times: Jobs
• LinkedIn Jobs

Recruiters are keen to have a diverse workforce and many will have policies and processes that are proactive in recruiting students and graduates from diverse backgrounds. An increasing number of recruiters are offering traineeships, internships and Insight events and many are being recognized for their approach to being inclusive employers. To find out the policies and attitudes of the recruiters that you are interested in, explore their equality, diversity and inclusion policy. Search their website to see if they have any specific staff networks, look out for external accreditation such as whether they are a Disability Confident employer, a Stonewall Diversity Champion or part of the Mindful Employer charter promoting mental health at work. Check to see if they are partnering with organisations such as Rare Recruitment, SEO London, MyPlus Students' Club (disability), EmployAbility (disability and neurodifference) and there are many more that are working for specific communities. A key place to look is to see what they do to celebrate diversity on their Facebook and Twitter pages.

The UK Equality Act 2010 has a number of protected characteristics to prevent discrimination due to your age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or beliefs, sex or sexual orientation. For further information on the Equality Act 2010 and to find out where and how you are protected, and what to do if you feel you have been discriminated against, visit the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s webpage on the Equality Act and the Government’s webpages on discrimination.