Relevant experience for Degree in Social Work in Northern Ireland

How do I obtain this

relevant experience

for entry to the

Honours Degree?

Relevant experience involves showing

evidence of significant direct contact

with people needing support or help.

This might be gained through working

with older people, children, young

people or adults, some of whom may

have a physical or learning disability or

mental ill health.

Experience may be gained

through life experience (growing up

with a sibling with a disability or being a

carer for a family member/relative),

voluntary work (being a mentor or

befriender for e.g.) or paid work

(working in social care) or a mixture of

all three. Involvement may be part-

time, full-time or sessional, but should

be sustained over sufficient time to

demonstrate interest and commitment.

Northern Ireland Social Care Council

7th Floor, Millennium House

19-25 Great Victoria Street

Belfast

BT2 7AQ

Tel : 028 9536 2600

Web : www.niscc.info

Please note—if you decide to

make an application for a place

on the Degree, it is very

important that you outline any

paid or voluntary/unpaid work

experience on your UCAS

application form and make a

link between your experience

and social work practice.

Course providers wish to

recognise both voluntary/

unpaid experience as well as

paid experience, particularly in

relation to an application for

the accelerated Relevant

Graduate Route. See also

Guidance on Preparation for

Social Work Interviews—how

your life/work experience can

be applied to social work.

Why undertake relevant

experience before applying to

the Degree?

Social workers work within Health and Social

Services in NI and also within the education

and justice systems. They frequently work

alongside other social care, medical, health

care and education professionals, so the

ability to work as a part of a multi-disciplinary

team is essential.

Prospective social workers need to be patient,

sensitive, tolerant, resilient and determined to

help achieve positive change for those they

work with.

When applying to the Degree in

Social Work (the Degree),

applicants need to be able to

provide evidence that they

understand what is involved in

the fields of social work and

social care and that they are

fully committed to training.

Through relevant

experience or

volunteering, applicants

can obtain some

knowledge and

understanding of practice

issues, can gain some

awareness of the personal

attributes and skills

needed for employment in social work and can

find lots of practical experience to draw on to

help with completing applications and

attending interviews.

Being a volunteer or a temporary

care worker is an effective way of

finding out more about the different

opportunities in social work or social

care; it helps you decide if social

work is the career for you and is

also a satisfying experience which

makes a valuable contribution to our

community.

What are the

qualities needed to

train to be a Social

Worker?

Social work involves working with a broad

range of individuals and families, assessing

their need and supporting them to make life-

changing and often painful choices in complex

situations.

As an applicant for social work training,

you need to be prepared to examine,

challenge and change your attitudes and

prejudices. You may become involved with

the behaviours of individuals and families

whose ways of living their lives are very

different from yours, and you may even be

required to use legislation to protect adults

and children who are vulnerable or at risk.