Applications to be social workers fall

The number of people applying to become social
workers fell again last year.

For 2001 entry there were just 4,703
applicants to the social work admissions system, which processes 60
per cent of the total number of applications, compared with 11,526
in 1995, a fall of 59 per cent.

A spokesperson for the General Social Care
Council said that as the Department of Health recruitment campaign
was only announced in October, its influence will not be clear
until the numbers of applicants for 2002-3 are known.

She said that numbers had been affected by the
introduction of student loans and competition with other
professions such as nursing.