Recruitment drive enters second phase

The government has launched the second phase
of its social worker awareness and recruitment campaign. The
£600,000 campaign aims to increase the number of applications
for social work training by 5,000 within three years.

Efforts will be stepped up in
areas such as London and the south east where recruitment problems
are the most severe.

Targets for the first stage of
the campaign were exceeded by 60 per cent, with about 14,000 people
calling for more information about social work careers.

This
has led to a 20 per cent increase in requests for application forms
for social work courses. One in seven calls received by the
helpline were from professionals in the business and banking
sector. Health minister Jacqui Smith said: “Many people have a
negative image of social work, and this campaign will tackle the
misconceptions and promote the positive work carried out by social
workers on a daily basis.

“We
know that a range of people have shown an interest in social work
and social care careers as a result of the first phase of the
campaign.”

The
campaign uses an advertisement featuring the story of an elderly
cricket fan who fulfills his wish to die at home because of the
emotional support and help organised by his social
worker.

There
had been some concern that a previous advert had overly simplified
the care required by an elderly Polish man who had had a number of
traumatic experiences during his life.

– The
campaign website is at www.socialworkcareers.co.uk