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Recruiting social workers from overseas is increasingly seen as a way of alleviating the skills crisis. Laurel Eden, David Bowdler and Ros Thorpe, who are involved in a recruitment project, report on a partnership between Australian social workers and UK local authorities.

In January 2001, 10 Australian social workers were recruited to work two-year contracts with children's services at Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Councils. In October, a further seven went to Northamptonshire Council social care and health services. Most were graduates of James Cook University, North Queensland, and came with the wholehearted support of their academic staff.

The new practitioners support each other and feedback from employers has been very positive. Although the two-year contract period is still being evaluated, Australian universities and the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) have indicated support for future recruitment based on this model. This in turn has galvanised some Australian employers into granting a two-year leave of absence for participating employees, acknowledging the value of the experience to be gained.

Many possibilities for extending the project have been mooted. These include transferring an individual's postgraduate study to a UK university close to his or her place of employment, cross-country partnerships between academic staff, international practice units in final year courses, and the possibility of placing Australian students with Australian practice teachers in the UK. In the latter case some of the students may continue working in the UK after graduation.

It is our aim to match other Australian universities to UK councils. Twelve Australian social workers are working in Thurrock, Essex, most of whom graduated in Perth, Western Australia. Eight social workers and three occupational therapists from Brisbane universities will be going to Reading Council in July. Other proposals include sending a group of social workers to Barking and Dagenham Council, London, in the Autumn.

In the meantime, James Cook University staff have been evaluating the project. It is already clear that if the long process between initial interest to placement and retention is to proceed smoothly, information packages provided by the councils are insufficient for a sustainable transition from Australia to the UK. We need to develop more subtle, flexible ways to prepare people for the change.

Feedback indicates that recruits from Australia experienced the following differences between Australian and UK practice.

Despite increasing emphasis on standards and guidelines in Australia the recruits have found that their ethical aspirations for social work and the everyday realities of work are much more polarised in the UK than in Australia. Although Australian social work has a uniform ethical base it also has a fertile history, which caters for innovation, individual flexibility and laterally applied standards of practice.

Australian social workers employed in the UK enter the country with little understanding of British politics, so they are surprised at the profession's close association with the public sector. They see this as weakening the identity of social work professionals and contributing to the poor image of UK social workers compared to that in Australia. While this may be na‹ve, it is based on the fact that a far smaller proportion of Australian social workers is employed by government agencies. In Australia, the emphasis is on employment by locally managed bodies such as neighbourhood centres or voluntary and quasi-public agencies.

As a result Australian social workers are located in and report to widely dispersed agencies such as hospitals, community health, relief agencies, immigration, the courts, schools, refuges, outreach and private practice. Social workers in Australia are seldom found in large numbers as in the UK and almost always operate as part of a multi-disciplinary team. So in theory they can bring a history of co-operative practice to the UK.

This has been nurtured because geography plus the range of organisational settings in Australia fragment political alignments and favour the use of a variety of powerful agencies for brokering services. By contrast the settings in the UK are often polarised by linear, bureaucratic systems such as service provision, monitoring, case conference structures and formal contracts.

One positive outcome for adapting to the more formal UK structures is that Australian social workers will take back the experience of greater clarity of roles and boundaries of practice.

Australian social workers have the advantage of a national four-year social worker degree that is accredited by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) and has a universal code of professional ethics. Comments have been made by current employers that the Australian Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) appears to be a generalist degree, compared to the particular focus points of the UK Diploma in Social Work. Without entering a debate about which is better, it is important to acknowledge the difference and more importantly the transferable learning from the BSW to UK practice and vice versa.

If, for example, an Australian social worker has not acquired specific postgraduate experience (such as in child protection) he or she may lack the detailed knowledge of graduating UK social workers. What needs to be understood is that if practitioners are to adapt to UK practice settings, additional training may be required.

This is a good example of cross fertilisation that provides advantages to Australians and we aim to exploit it in future training programmes.

The crisis of vacancies in social services will not be solved in the short term by recruitment policies that aim solely to increase the numbers of British professionals. While the UK is "growing its own", shared developments in practice and ways of working can enhance all social work. Australia provides a logical source of interim recruitment because as with Canada and New Zealand there is parallel practice, a common language and a high academic standard. Furthermore, recruitment from Australia does not invite the moral dilemma that can surround recruitment from third world countries.

It therefore seems opportune to establish a cultural exchange in which practice in each country cross-fertilises the other. By working with such a model the incoming Australian social workers not only contribute to the UK workforce but return to Australia with measurable skills.

Laurel Eden is a social worker in private practice in Australia. She travels regularly to the UK accompanying and supporting social workers, and can be contacted at eden@cyberwizards.com.au  David Bowdler is a former social services human resources manager who now works independently in the care sector here and in Australia. Ros Thorpe is professor of social work and community welfare at James Cook University in North Queensland.

Background reading

1 B Jordan, "Tough love: social work practice in UK society", in P Stepney and D Ford, Social Work Models, Methods and Theories, Russell House Publishing, 2000

Beginnings of the Project

The idea of a personally supported, non-commercial model of recruitment based on a relationship between UKcouncils and Australian universities was developed by me when I returned to Australia after four years with Bedfordshire social services, writes Laurel Eden. Having started social work in the UK alone (via an agency), I experienced a profound professional culture shock, received little training and no on-going support.

My experiences suggested that variations in cultural and professional practice mar successful recruitment from other countries. Agencies do not cater for the continuing professional development that motivates many Australian social workers to work in the UK.

It is not an agency's role to promote learning opportunities that might compensate for the loss of the sense of belonging and being valued that still underpins practice across Australia yet is less strong in the UK.

As a result, the new wave of Australian social workers are thinking critically before working outside Australia and are looking for employment with developmental opportunities. This is especially relevant for those who wish to continue postgraduate study and thus commit to longer council contracts.

Attitudes have changed because "traditional" recruiting approaches no longer appeal to expatriate social workers who can now be selective about their work options. They also fail to exploit possibilities for cross fertilisation of practice.

Australians need to know what they have to learn from practising in the UK.

The challenge for an innovative council is to adopt a cross-fertilisation approach thereby engaging and retaining their Australian workers.