School of Social Work Provides Meaningful Career Opportunities in The Community
Did you know that in the U.S., the employment of social service workers is expected to increase faster than the average for all occupations through 2018? Social Workers who have attend a reliable School of Social Work, are employed to help varying populations including: seniors, assaulted women and children, people with mental illness and developmental disabilities, youth and the homeless or under housed. In their positions, Social Workers offer guidance and counseling to people in crisis, obtain government funds for clients, arrange foster homes for children, and begin legal action in cases of child abuse.
In order to ensure that they are Social Workers are carrying out these often-sensitive tasks diplomatically, there are a few steps that must be taken. First, the social worker contacts each client after being assigned a number of cases to determine the scopes of the situation. Clients are then counseled and provided with resources to meet their needs. During this process, the social worker maintains meticulous notes for documentation purposes. He or she also works with other agencies to provide the best services. Tasks vary by where the social service worker is employed.
Before becoming a social worker, you must attend a college or university to gain post-secondary accreditation. One option is Centennial College’s School of Social Work program, which takes two years to complete, results in an Ontario College Diploma and allows you to work at entry-level positions at shelters, community centres, group homes and advocacy coalitions.
Students in the Social Work program will learn to reflect upon how values and ideologies contribute to the construction of social problems and prescribed solutions. They will learn to ally with people to develop and improve resources that assist people to resolve problems and enhance quality of life. This knowledge is achieved in a variety of ways such as interactive learning opportunities, including experiences in assessing communities, developing and writing funding proposals, social action plans as well as simulated client interviews and assessments; engagement in a dynamic learning process with exposure to group labs, guest speakers, experiential learning, collaborative learning and inter-professional opportunities with other students; and participation in a supported, intensive field placement providing the opportunity to apply and integrate classroom learning.
During the application process at the School of Social Work, students must present at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. Students must also have completed the compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment, or equivalent. Non-academic requirements such as a program admission session and English proficiency are also considered. As the Social Service Worker program has a field placement component during which students obtain “real-life” experiences, a criminal reference check might be required. Certain criminal convictions may disallow placement in an agency and program completion may not be possible. For more information, please check the School of Social Work’s admissions page.