The number of overseas social workers in the UK

Social workers who have qualified overseas must have their qualifications confirmed by the GSCC as suitable for them to work in the UK. (In broad terms that means that, since October, they must be qualified to a comparable level to the UK social work degree, and have 130 days of post-qualifying training.) The numbers below represent how many overseas social workers have had their qualifications recognised as good enough for them to be able to work in the UK, rather than the number who are necessarily practicing social work here.

The European Economic Area (consisting of EU member states plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) and Switzerland are grouped together as they are all governed by the same European directive on the cross-border recognition of professional qualifications.