Question reference: S6W-06942
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 1 March 2022
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Current status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 14 March 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether people should be encouraged to pursue careers in social work, and how it will address reported concerns that too many challenges face people actively trying to gain more qualifications in the field.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the social work workforce. We greatly value their contribution to supporting the most vulnerable in society, particularly throughout the pandemic.
Over the last five years, £25 million funding has been invested to support the training of social workers, including via postgraduate bursaries and support for practice-based learning. The postgraduate social work bursary scheme provides a contribution to the fees level set by universities.
There are other sources of funding that can be applied for. Full details of these can be found at www.saas.gov.uk and www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Funding-Support-Grants
There are a range of social work degrees available from full-time undergraduate to in-work postgraduate courses. Social work courses are offered at nine universities across Scotland. More information can be found here: Studying social work at university - Scottish Social Services Council (sssc.uk.com)
As part of our ambition to increase access to the social work profession the Scottish Government is working with Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Social Services Council to explore the creation of a Graduate Apprenticeship in Social Work.