Scottish ads seek to sign up graduates

Advertisements will appear in the Scottish press this week for
graduates to be fast-tracked into retraining as children and family
social workers in a bid to ease the recruitment crisis in
Scotland.

Under the plan announced in January, the Scottish executive is
putting up £500,000 for a pilot project with the Convention of
Scottish Local Authorities (news, page 9, 6 February).

Organisation development officer at Cosla, Anna Fowlie, said the
campaign aimed to tackle the crisis in vacancy levels and pre-empt
the anticipated “blip” in newly qualified social workers when the
four-year social work honours degree replaces the Diploma in Social
Work next year.

The aim is to recruit 50 trainees to complete the DipSW in under 18
months rather than the normal two years. “Students will make a
commitment to work for two years in a permanent post as a children
and families social worker . . . or pay back some of the money,”
Fowlie said.