Gidday fellow social workers.
I am an Aussie social worker, I work in a regional health care service, and I am what we call here an accredited Mental Health Social Worker. I get emails from UK social work recruiters, telling me there are lots of jobs for social workers in the UK and why don't I come on over?
Guys, I don't get it. Aren't there plenty of qualified British social workers available for these positions? Why are the recruiters trying to lure Aussies and New Zealanders and other nationalities to the UK? I know there are never enough social workers to fill the positions in child protection (we have the same problem in Australia), but the recruiters say there are jobs for social workers in the UK for various areas of practice, including hospital social work. If there are jobs for overseas trained social workers, what do the British social workers think about them coming in and taking their jobs?
I treat what the recruiters say with some caution, so I would really appreciate hearing from UK social workers what is really going on in the UK. Thanks in anticipation that I hear from some of you.
Macka
Hi Macka
This is my experience.
I am trying to move to NZ , you have the sun there why come here..seriously.- there are no jobs here. Most agencies advertised but to be honest there are no jobs. The government is cutting down on services - benefits so people like myself (Newly qualified social workers-NQSW) are finding difficulties searching for a job. There are few jobs in children services and they are more likely to hire an experienced social worker.
A few years back they used to give welcome money to NQSW - now they are telling me I have no experience when in fact I did 200 days placements, dissertation, attending lecturers, etc. all including travelling 2 hours to university 4 times a week.
It is easier to hire someone on agency- they can get rid of you easily when no needed. So thats not a secure job (if you dont have a contract then is nor worth the risk).
Hope this gives you an idea of the situation in the UK- perhaps a social worker (already working) will tell you how wonderful the situation is but as a jobless person myself and many agencies aware of my social work degree - I will not risk it.
i totally agree i am nearing the end of my degree. i have applied for 27 jobs and have not received one interview. i have had my cv checked by several professionals who cannot understand why i am so unsuccessful with finding a job.
the degree is very challenging and i now feel that i have wasted 3 yrs of my life as i was more employable b4 i got the degree.
what is the point of the government providing social work students with a bursery to then remove funding for agencies to employ qualified social workers.
my biggest fear is that there will be tragedies b4 the situation improves. many social workers that i have talked to have said that their workload is unmanageable . this has resulted in some s w going on long term sick
come on government get it right.
At the moment there seems to be plenty of jobs for CP social workers (as long as you are experienced, which then starts the whole chicken and egg problem) but from the experience of people that qualified alongside me last year, there are not many adults jobs and it is extremely competative and there are loads of cuts.
I dont know why they are sending emails to Australian social workers trying to get them over here and also Australian recruiters are sending emails to UK social workers to get them over there!! A very odd situation indeed!!
x
Hello UK social workers. Thank you Cinders and everyone else who has responded to my post about Aussie social workers being recruited for UK social work jobs.
It does seem very short sighted of British recruiters and the UK system generally that newly qualified UK social workers, and UK social workers who are trying to get back into social work jobs, are not being hired in the UK. Why invest in training you and then not hire you? It doesn't make good economic sense, as well as being unfair and de-motivating. It seems to be driven by money, or a shortage of money, don't you think?
If you were to come to Australia, you would get jobs here, and not just in child protection. I know Australian recruiters recruit UK social workers for child protection jobs in Australia, but please be warned: this is terribly hard work. I've done it, I lasted 13.5 months (but who's counting) and if I had stayed it would have become a health hazard. As it was, I was assaulted by a client's mother, and became terribly stressed by unwinable caseloads, abusive management practices, long, long hours and so on. I heard a radio report a few months ago that the majority of UK social workers recruited to work in child protection in an Australian region had left, I think there was only one who remained, and she was loving it! In Australia, as a qualified social worker in a capital city, you would have as good a chance as an Aussie to get work in health, housing, government, policy, women's refuges and so on. We have plenty of jobs and they're not all locum, many are for at least a year, or permanent. So maybe that's food for thought? And we do have rather a lot of sunshine. We've also had a decade long drought, followed by floods, bushfires and a locust plague ... and with all the rain and recent warmer weather, we've had a lot more spiders (yeeks). :)
As we say in Australia, ooroo (bye)
HI Macka
It is nice to know the situation in your country - thank you for sharing that with us.
I was just thinking about going to NZ or even Australia (but I have pets and I am not sure whether you have to quarantine them) so thats an issue I have about moving abroad. This is something I have to find out more.
However, I still want to ask you about the situation with NQSW, do recruitment agencies recruit Newly qualified social workers in Australia? Is it easy to find a job as a social worker ? Here they keep saying they need social workers - the authorities are saying there are no enough good social workers around (but still working as social workers), so I am not sure what they are looking for. Someone with a fresh start - or someone with same old fashion skills who is not doing a good job (despite having experience).
Do let me know as I want to find out more about moving from this country.
Thank you and take care
If we like it or not thats the case. I work with colleagues of at least 5 nationalities and have come across liberal amounts of Ozzies and Kiwi's practing over the years.
Fancy a swap ? im looking to relocate over there, any agencies you know of feel free to share ?
Take these recruiters seriously, i am freelance and am not short of work and could get significantly more but i can only hold one job at a time im afraid.
Down side is think most recruiters can get away with paying oevrseas workers less p/h as you should be grateful for a job (sic) and more bunce in their pockets. £25 an hour minimum is agency average for experiecned workers from whereever, dont sell yourself short.
Regards
It is an interesting time for many. My experience is of Local Authorities favouring less experienced social work staff to do their AMHP training(mental health ).
This enables the Local Authority to place the social workers in NHS teams for as low a cost as possible, where they are likely to have very inadequate supervision from poorly trained and unprepared nurse ' managers'.
Previously, Experienced Social Workers were encouraged to train for Mental Health specialism, (ASW or AMHP). Thees social workers were more expensive to place in NHS teams, had more experience and pay than their NHS Nurse ' managers' and rarely could achieve promotion due to NHS contracts and gradings being incompatible.
Now, POWER games and manoevres are leaving Social Work Managers vulnerable to redundancy and Local Councils seeking to get rid of Experienced(and therefore more expensive) Social Workers by fair means or foul. My own observation is that power abuse is rife and means of pushing the profession out o of jobs...have been utterly foul.
Stay in New Zealand or go to another European country to broaden your experience. The Uk uses and abuses experienced staff and utilises temporary agency staff when Inspections uncover dangerous practise due to mismanaged minimal resources and exhausted, well intentionned Social Workers drowning in bureaucratric minefields and wishing they could get on and work with people who need trained and qualified professionals out there empowering them to manage their lives.
The political climate has driven the recent managerialist culture which is overvaluing freshly qualified graduates with little experience and hunger for experience to enrich their practise and confidence. Instead they are overwhelmed, undersupported, and seeing their experienced colleagues disappear from the workplace for one unhappy reason or another.
It is still worth fighting for this profession.....we actually believe in our values and will always wish to pursue Human Rights etc......
Hello again everyone,
Did I open a can of worms? Are you all wanting to leave the UK? :) Surely it's not that bad?
If you are interested in working in Australia, here are some suggestions to find out more: google AASW & Horizon employment; Tradewind Recruitment; HCL social care Australia; McArthur Recruitment Australia; CRS Australia; google hospitals in capital cities (eg: Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Darwin, Brisbane Canberra) - that's if you want to work in hospital/health social work - and Reed Specialist Recruitment.
My understanding is that newly qualified social workers do get jobs, yes, and permanent ones. Australia is not dominated by short term contract work, as opposed to what appears to be the case in the UK. For instance, I have an Indian colleague and she has got permanent work here. The AASW - Australian Association of Social Workers - has information about overseas qualified social workers wanting to work in Australia, it's worth reading and researching. Regarding visas and so on, I have no idea, can't help you there. I would google once again. What can I say, google is my friend!
If any of you work in UK hospitals, or know anyone (a social worker) who does, I would really appreciate learning more about how the UK hospital system works, and the nature of the work performed by UK hospital social workers.
see ya
Thanks for that information, do I call you fatbob? It doesn't sound very respectful, does it? Do you have another name? :) Do you work in the health care sector? Hospitals? That's my line of work ...
cheers
Fatbob is cool. I work in front line CP and looked after work.
Most hospital social work deals with adult services, older people, discharge packages, keeping families in their homes etc.
Mental health can also be hospital based, but needed ASW qualification.
CP stuff is generally dealt with by teams within the local authority and hospital social workers generally dont get pulled into that loop.
Hospital socail work staff are generally employed by local NHS trusts whereas child and family social workers generally are employed by local authorities.
Children with disabilites are again generally supported though local authorities rather than hospitals directly
Hope is useful, i will chase up them ozzy links.
Cheers
Hi Macka, I found your post yesterday and I totally agree you. I receive hundreds of offers for UK Social Work positions but when I decided to apply nothing came up. It was really very strange.
I appreciate very much the sincerity of the colleagues when they say there is a high unemployment rate in the UK in our field.
What I can't understand is why the agencies keep e mailing offers...the only explanation I can find is the need of vacancy advertisement according to the new visa regulations:
The job vacancy must have been advertised to settled workers. Employers should advertise skilled jobs under Tier 2 for an initial period of no less than seven days. If a suitable resident worker applies, they may be appointed straight away.
If no suitable resident labour worker is available, employers cannot appoint a migrant worker at this stage but must re-advertise for the remainder of the 28 days. If no suitable resident labour market worker is identified at this stage, employers can then consider appointing a Tier 2 migrant.
Ok, Fatbob it is. Thanks for that information, Fatbob, that sounds quite a bit like in Australia. I am told the UK hospital social worker is also responsible for finding a hostel or nursing home for patients who cannot go home. Is that your understanding? In Australia, that's up to the families of the patient. Are there social work departments in UK hospitals, where information is kept, such as contact details for local residential facilities? if you have had contact with UK recruiters, who would you recommend or not recommend? What is an ASW qualification for mental health work? Australian social work?
As you work in child protection (you brave lad), you would find there are lots of jobs in Australia for you, if you want to remain in that work. I would suggest you google The Age newspaper, Saturday edition, and you will find jobs advertised in child protection. The ads are spread throughout the paper, not just in the jobs section. That's for Victoria, the state in which I live. If you're not familiar with Australia's geography, become aquainted so you know where you want to go. The state govt depts recruit mostly for CP, that's called the Department of Human Services in Victoria, you could google them too. If you want to look at the job ads for the nation, google The Australian newspaper, Saturday's edition. Or, google child protection jobs in the various states: Victoria, New South Wales, ACT, Northern Territory (there are crocodiles there!), South Australia, West Australia, Tasmania. I also think it wouldn't be a bad idea to read some journal articles about CP in Australia, so you know what you're in for. They're pretty spot on about the challenges.
For anyone else reading, if you are a NQSW, you would get hired in Australia if you were prepared to work in CP. If you were looking for other sw work, you'd compete with others, but unless you have 2 heads and don't speak English at all, you would find work, it just may take a little bit of time. I notice more recruitment companies are advertising for sw, so I think that means there are lots of jobs and not enough workers.
Dear Colleagues,
What do you think about the situation and chance of finding jobs of international qualified social workers in the UK? I'm a registered social worker and have my BSW from Turkey.
Hi there,
I'm no expert on this, although I've done some research on it. May I suggest you contact some recruiters and ask them about your prospects of finding work in the UK? HCL, Reed, Hays, Above Average Social Work Services, 4 Social Work, Liquid Personnel, Medicare First are some I've noted. As you can see from reading these posts, some people have found social work recruiters helpful, and some have not. Good luck :)
Hi Delma,
thanks for your reply. Can you tell us more about your experiences applying for sw jobs in the UK? Where are you? Are you an experienced and qualified social worker? What area of sw do you work in? I've read and reread your information about new visa regulations but I'm afraid I just don't get it. Can you explain it again please?
thanks,
Flowergirl2011: Hi Macka This is my experience. I am trying to move to NZ , you have the sun there why come here..seriously.- there are no jobs here. Most agencies advertised but to be honest there are no jobs. The government is cutting down on services - benefits so people like myself (Newly qualified social workers-NQSW) are finding difficulties searching for a job. There are few jobs in children services and they are more likely to hire an experienced social worker. A few years back they used to give welcome money to NQSW - now they are telling me I have no experience when in fact I did 200 days placements, dissertation, attending lecturers, etc. all including travelling 2 hours to university 4 times a week. It is easier to hire someone on agency- they can get rid of you easily when no needed. So thats not a secure job (if you dont have a contract then is nor worth the risk). Hope this gives you an idea of the situation in the UK- perhaps a social worker (already working) will tell you how wonderful the situation is but as a jobless person myself and many agencies aware of my social work degree - I will not risk it.
Mr Shirack
Thanks for your kind words.
No it doesn't comfort me your thoughts. I did not know a social worker can now amputate legs...lol. wow a multi-task profession.
No matter what people say here - every one here has their own agendas - everything looks nice in written , but the reality is that they all have their own views/beliefs as I have seen it myself. In practice, is different - we have to be professionals and I know that. but I have seen some bad social workers laughing behinds people's back (ie service users) and thats not nice to hear.
Hi Macka!
I am located in Spain with more than 10 years of experience with vulnerable children. What concerned me after I started to seach for jobs in the UK was this contradictory image: a huge need of SW with daily e mails showing new jobs available and the feedback from colleagues telling about the high unemployement rate for SW in the UK plus the replies from agencies asking for so many requisites: previous UK experience, own car..or just no reply at all.
After thinking why so many adverts and so little jobs( 1 job = 100 adverts, one per agency) I saw the tier 2 visa regulations (for non EU citizens) and the number of days the jobs must be advertised, but this is just an idea in my head..
Anyway, I have a clear idea now of the situation in the UK and the budget cuts so I will place in spam all the e mails about jobs and wait for the recession to go away..meanwhile I will continue traveling every other month to visit my relatives and friends in the UK. At least here life is cheap and we have the Sun !
Hello All,
On transferability of qualifications to other countries I would advise CAUTION and utter disbelief at the process. I have been a DIPSW qualified social worker for 7 years (since 2004) who studied concurrently for an MA in Applied Social Studies as at the time the BSW and MSW were not on offer. I have been a statutory and agency front line social worker for many years, hold my PQ 1, a FULL Practice Teacher Award and other PQ modules and currently have a Teaching Fellowship in Social Work on a Masters programme (and do extra work as an academic/practice tutor and off-site practice teacher) and have current and ongoing GSCC registration and have recently expressed an interest in applying for a skilled migrant visa for New Zealand.
However I have been told the bonus points I have claimed for my job and qualifictions being in an area of absolute skills shortage of social work are NOT awardable as the Long Term Skill Shortage List does not identify any qualification for social work other than a BSW or GRADUATE Diploma in Social Work thus ruling out any experienced professionals who qualified prior to the new social work degree or MSW being offered!!! My professional identity is in crisis as for years I have thought of myself as a social worker! I also find myself disadvantaged against the many qualifying students that I may have been responsible for providing practice teacher support/assessment and teaching to due to what seems like semantics to me.
The NZ Social Work Registration Board class CQSW and DipSW prior to 2005 as comparable but because there is no LEGAL requirement to register there yet Immigration New Zealand will not recognise their sensible approach! Is it any surprise the job remains an absolute skills shortage area? I would be very keen to talk to any forum members who know of colleagues who are many years qualified with DIPSW or CQSW who managed to be selected for these Skilled Migrant Visas without a job offer - I'm beginning to think none exist??
Any thoughts?
In Flowergirl's defence I read her as being humerous in response to Shirack's ending sentence. I don't think she is resentful towards social workers, just a bit disillusioned with the way things have gone for her. It is difficult getting a social work job here for NQSW and returned SW's like myself , and yes there are some dodgy social workers - that's just the way things are and why I too also happen to be angry at the situation, hence writing to my MP and to the Association of Social Workers about my concerns. I appreciate everyone's views on here whether they agree with me or not.
Cinders .... perhaps i read flowergirls message wrong but i have read lots of her posts and they are often negative and come across as being resentful.
I dont disagree with you about how tough things are right now - i know that it can be difficult to get a sw job and why you might be feeling angry, I have friends in a similar position.
i read resentment into some of her comments - as i said i may be wrong........
Hi Flowergirl,
if I were you, having finished a social work degree, I would be grumpy about not being able to find a job. That sucks. After a few knock backs it's easy to take it personally, although it's probably not at all personal. As I said, there are jobs in Australia for new graduate social workers, so my suggestion is look into it. And we have a lot of sunshine :). The New Zealand situation I don't know about.
But if I may, I would like to offer some suggestions (discard them if you want) for finding a job in the UK. Perhaps I am being a total idiot, suggesting stuff when I don't live in the UK and am ignorant of the situation there. But sometimes an idiot accidentally stumbles upon something worth thinking about. So bear with me?
If I were you, I would ask the interviewers/recruiters why I am not getting a job. And how I could get a job. What needs to change about me so I can get a job? People tend to be flattered when you ask their advice. Offer to buy one a coffee in a cafe, or a drink in the pub after work, just for the pleasure of their advice. Have a list of questions, and make some notes as you go. Also, consider doing some volunteer work in an area of social work you are interested in, just to get some experience. Don't give up!
After I finished my degree, I went for a few jobs and got nowhere. I'm mature aged and had worked for many years as a newspaper journalist. I had to take a job in child protection because it was a start. I hated it, I was completely unsuited to that kind of work. I knew I wanted to work in a hospital, and I just waited until I had a year of experience, then I went for the first job the local hospital advertised. My attitidue was, to just keep bugging them until they relented and let me in. I approached them straight after I finished my degree but they told me to go get some experience. Looking back, I think the jobs I went for that I didn't get were not right for me, and it was probably obvious to the interviewers. I was accepted by child protection because they were desperate.
Don't give up Flowergirl, there's a job out there for you.
I agree with Flowergirl: the situation for finding work in the UK is dire. I have been for permanent roles here in CP and the feedback is always the same I need to get CP experience; but how do I get that?
I've worked with children who have drug and alcohol problems as a qualified social worker in young people's services; whilst that is enough to get me to the interview stage for a CP post the feedback is always the same my lack of statutory CP experience becomes evident at the interview stage. But how do I get statutory CP experience? Last year I went for a CP role with one particular council and there must have been 80 to a 100 social workers attending the interview process. That allows the council to be very picky.
All the agency work has dried up since last summer. The agencies tell me it is very quiet, although I have told them I'll work anywhere in the UK. Actually, I'll work anywhere in the world.
I have started contacting agencies in Australia advertising temporary and permanent, although one has told me I need at least 2 years frontline CP experience. Another, said first I need to get a work visa then relocate to Australia then contact the agency so I need to make some inquiries about the visa. I was under the impression that you had to find the work first then apply for the work visa.
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The problem with all the recruiters aka employment agencies is that they are in business to place people in vacancies. The 'consultants' are glorifed sales staff who only really care about if they meet the next target and therefore achieve a bonus! They have been hedging their bets, thinking that when local authorities had thier new budgets (April) that the vacancy situation would improve. To try and have people ready to place [in the gateway that may only be 1 - 2 weeks] they have been posting phantom job adverts to get people's interest and thinking that work was available they would then register with the agency i.e. a reserve army of workers. If what they thought re the pending contracts had happened then this may have been all well and good. In reality though it has been simply dishonest and has cruely raised peoples hopes, only for many to be deflated (and sometimes out of pocket) when they find that the jobs are not actually available. Reality is that for many actual posts advertised there is often in excess of 50 applicants, this time last year there would have been about 4 applicants and several years ago local authorities had to try an tempt people to work for them with a range of incentives such as golden hello's.
The problem is that budgets have been cut deep with the promise of further cuts next year. The consequence is that the job situation is desperate in the UK. Thier are just not enought jobs to go round in many parts of the country. Another issue is the personalisation agenda which places more empasis on service users / carers e.g. self assessment and cheaper, unqualifed staff completing support plans.
It is not uncommon for social workers to be made to re-apply for their jobs with say in a team of five social workers, these would be told to apply for three vacancies or accept redundancy. The shortfall would then be filled by unqualified staff with much of the assessements being carried out by the service users themselves and the support plan being done by the service user with a support worker. I have seen many of these plans and whilst a limited few are of a good standard many are dire. There is clearly a crisis situation building and a disaster waiting to happen.
I'd say to one and all tread carefully and watch your backs, oh and don't believe a thing the employment agencies tell you.
Hope this is helpful.
Hi! A few points. I work for BASW/CoSW and at one careers event recently we were hearing from newly qualified SWs who could not find employment and we met some delightful US SWs who had just been recruited en masse by a County Council (children's services). Does not compute! I have a theory (half baked. untested and possibly defamatory) that there are employers out there who cannot be bothered with supporting NQs (and this situation will develop with possible Assessed and Suported Year of Employment) because of their overwhelming need for SWs who can hit the ground running and get involved in the nastiest cases, and who therefore ignore local talent and take on experienced overseas workers. Don't get me wrong on several points - It's great to have overseas SWs around the place and be reminded we're part of a global profession and I'm all for newly qualified people having the support and guidance they need and deserve. It's just all about employer short termism in my view and does nothing to solve the pressing problems of our profession or make sure people recieve a consistent, expert social work service.
Advice to newly qualified folk - don't decry the experience you've had on placements and before undertaking your degree, do seek feedback on interviews, express your willingness to learn and develop and take responsibility (but not be taken for a mug). There are some good employers out there and I hope you find one.
Advice to overseas social workers, please come and see us - you will be surprised both positively and negatively about some of what goes on here and the way SWs are regarded and treated. Keep to your SW values and the priority to treat service users with respect and dignity.
Thanks to all who have responded lately. It certainly gives one food for thought. It doesn't sound so great, I must say. The UK system doesn't sound like it is supporting its own workers much at all. It is better in Australia, on the face of it. We have plenty of jobs, there are plenty of permanent ones, newly qualified social workers can get work, and not just in child protection.
Barry, you sound like you know a fair bit about what goes on, may I ask what area of social work you practice in? Do you deal directly with recruiters? What sort of assessments are you talking about? Can you recommend any recruiters?
cheers,
carer1: Hi! A few points. I work for BASW/CoSW and at one careers event recently we were hearing from newly qualified SWs who could not find employment and we met some delightful US SWs who had just been recruited en masse by a County Council (children's services). Does not compute! I have a theory (half baked. untested and possibly defamatory) that there are employers out there who cannot be bothered with supporting NQs (and this situation will develop with possible Assessed and Suported Year of Employment) because of their overwhelming need for SWs who can hit the ground running and get involved in the nastiest cases, and who therefore ignore local talent and take on experienced overseas workers. Don't get me wrong on several points - It's great to have overseas SWs around the place and be reminded we're part of a global profession and I'm all for newly qualified people having the support and guidance they need and deserve. It's just all about employer short termism in my view and does nothing to solve the pressing problems of our profession or make sure people recieve a consistent, expert social work service. Advice to newly qualified folk - don't decry the experience you've had on placements and before undertaking your degree, do seek feedback on interviews, express your willingness to learn and develop and take responsibility (but not be taken for a mug). There are some good employers out there and I hope you find one. Advice to overseas social workers, please come and see us - you will be surprised both positively and negatively about some of what goes on here and the way SWs are regarded and treated. Keep to your SW values and the priority to treat service users with respect and dignity.
I totally agree about employers being short termist; but I can't say I'm happy about overseas social workers coming here looking for work, particularly if there is work in their own country. This exacerbates the situation.
Just to add, I am going to be qualifying next year and am choosing the adults pathway. Looks like it's going to be pretty crappy finding work..
Oh well, chin up and all that jazz!
Gday Macka,
I moved over from NSW over a year ago and am in London. I've worked for a national charity and now a local authority. It is certainly not the best environment to be on the job hunt over here and the amount of money paid up against the cost of living is very different to home and will be looking forward to moving back and getting some moolah back in the pocket!
The systems appear to be very similar, even the IT systems, so work wise there is little addde challenge. Legal systems are also very simliar, so other than learning the new names of th Acts, th lack of vegemite and that they prefer baths to showers, theere is little to shock the antipodeans. From my experince, there a lot of workers from Aus, NZ and SA as well as everywhere else, and havee not eexperienced any sense of being a foreigner taking their jobs!
As long as you have work garanteed, and a bit of back up savings, it should not be a problem.
Gidday NQAUS,
nice to hear from an Aussie working in London. I notice you've just survived a pretty severe winter in the UK. Are you missing the bright bright sunlight of Australia?
Mind if I ask you some questions? It sounds like you're not a hospital social worker, so maybe you won't know about how easy or hard it is to get that kind of work in the UK. In your line of work, did you find it difficult to get work? I don't think I could have work guaranted, that only seems to be the case for child protection work. How did you find the recruiters? Would you recommend any? Did you have work guaranteed?
Thanks!
Sorry Macka, I'm not in hospitals. From what I've heard, life isn't very easy. I've heard of physios and OTs who are working as assistant in schools while times are a bit tougher. I'm not sure of sw in hospitals though.
I signed up with a few agencies, HCL and BlueCare are the big ones, although I got my last job from a tiny new place called Fawkes and Reece. The bigger agencies sometimes have exclusive deals with organisations. HCL gave me some free training on the local legislation etc.
I didn't have work guaranteed and it took me about two weeks of hard looking to get employed the first time, but that was under the previous government. When my last contract ran out earlier this year, it took me about 2 months to find a new job, so it was definitely tougher. I was offered a permanent position in my last role, but obviously agency work pays so much better. You need to weigh up job security vs short term gain.
I guess my advice would be to play tough with the agencies whilst still at home so you don't get over here and get screwed. Get as much info as you can so you can call their bluffs. Although they want you to get as well paid as possible (they take home as much as you do!) they also want as many names on the books as possible. From my experience and others, I would not put too much blind faith in any agencies. But maybe someone else will have a different experience.
Hope everything works out regardless of what you choose!
Thank you NQAUS, that's very helpful information. It is great to hear from someone who has done it. I know of HCL but not BlueCare and not Fawkes and Reece. Also good to know HCL gave you some training on local knowledge, I've been wondering how to find out how the UK does things, when I google it doesn't quite hit the spot.
You'll be pleased to know there are plenty of jobs in Australia, we have weathered the economic storm pretty well. The Federal Gillard Government has just brought down a budget, and there is increased funding for mental health, as they have been taking a battering from various advocates about not supporting mental health in previous budgets. So when you decide to come home, I would imagine employers will be impressed that you've survived and thrived in the UK.
All the best!
Interesting thread - thanks for posting.
It's unfortunate that recruitment agencies / consultants seem to have little accountability for giving an accurate reflection of the employment market. I'm a social worker from NZ with three years experience in mental health - currently living in London and trying to find work. In the months leading up to my departure, I was in regular contact with Reed Healthcare as I was aware of employment cutbacks. I was assurred that the market was improving and later that I would at the least have an interview within the first week. Five weeks have gone by without a whisper, despite countless applications and registering with several other recruitment agencies. Now that I'm here, the Reed consultant also seems irritated by my attempts to maintain regular contact.
Clearly, recruitment companies are not to blame for the lack of employment, and personally, I think I would've taken the gamble to come here either way. It would have been good if the agency had been more upfront from the outset though. I'm now needing to consider labouring or hospitalities work just to get some money coming in. Although after reading this thread, it sounds like Australia could be another option...
Hey NQAUS Think is important to pass on the knowlege that Vegemite is available at most major supermarkets in the England - def at larger Tescos and Sainsburys and BBQ and Pizza Shapes can be purchased at Asda. I hope that helps on the quest for sanity as a SW in the UK.
What I feel is perhaps the biggest challenge here is trying to alter the view of senior managers that just becuase its the cheapest option doesnt mean its the best. Local Authorities senior management will find any way possible to get out if having to do something even if it costs money even it if it in the child;s best interest. I think unless that mind set is drastically changed, SW in the UK will be a dangerous and lonely place. Ive been doing this here for the last 2.5 years after 7 years in Australia, and I can honestly say its easy to see why the some of te more serious incidents including child deaths happen. Im not saying that things like that dont happen in Aust becuase we know they do. But if managers were more cild focused and less concerned of how much something would cost children's servces would be in a much better and safer place.
Just back from Com Care Live and met many newly qualified social workers who were not finding work. One group from a London University reckoned a quarter of their year group had not found work as SWs and they graduated last year. As I said above, while not against SWs from other countries coming to work here (and SWs from UK working abroad too of course) as we are a global profession, I'm afraid I do have an issue with employers recruiting abroad as a policy and taking on significant numbers of overseas workers while 'home grown' SWs are unemployed or working in areas where they cannot use their hard-won social work skils. So no problem with individuals from other countries, just not keen on mass recruitments at the moment.
Adopt a world citizen approach.
I generally agree with this but I just wish that all the traffic was more that one way i.e. people coming to practice in the UK but (with the exception of childrens social workers) a firmly closed door the other way. I'm a mental health proctitioner and would dearly like to have experience of practicing in Canada and/or Australia. I've been exproring this for a couple of years now but just find it so difficult to even progress past first base. As for being able to practice in the USA, me thinks some one is having a laugh with that prospect. No problem finding workers from these countries over here though (and they are dearly welcomed though, again me thinks that they must be slightly mad to want to come from countries with higher standards of living to dear old blighty)
I know several newly qualifed social workers who qualified last year and have been unable to find employment, even taking into account very good statutory service placements because they have not got the required post qualifying experience that is being asked for. The problem is particulary difficult in adults teams but does exsist in some childrens teams. The advice to get feedback is always sound advice but rather disheartening when the feedback is you did a great interview but there were applicants with several years of post qualifying experience.
Sorry to be political (OK I'm not really sorry) but I just can't see things getting much better whilst we have the current ConDem government. I just have to ask if one buys a property on a mortgage, does one expect to pay of the loan in one or two years or over a more realistic term. I'm sneaking this in here as it is directly linked to the current crisis in both health and social care. The source of why services are being limited to those in need and why there is something of a jobs fammine.
OK rant over, I promise to be good now (for a little whiole at least ;-)