TRENDING CONTENT ON SOCIAL WORK HAVEN
In social work, there are a selection of social work competencies.
An understanding of those differing kinds or types of social work competencies could be useful in supporting social employees to recognise the usage of a spread abilities in any given state of affairs.
If you concentrate on social work competencies within the UK, you realise that competence in social work is a mixture of a number of social work abilities, together with data, professionalism, abilities and values, and many others.
On this article, I clarify the important thing social work competencies and provides some examples of social work competencies.
Why are social work competencies necessary?
Social work competencies are necessary as a result of:
- They help with moral choice making.
- Helps promote glorious follow
- Allows us to point out skilled dedication
- Helps us take accountability for our conduct and follow
- Helps proof our data
- Helps us to take care of a optimistic angle
- Allows us to take cost of our skilled improvement
- Helps with studying new abilities
- Helps us perceive our position as social employees.
- Allows us to ascertain and keep the belief and confidence of purchasers or service customers.
What are the 9 core social work competencies within the UK?
- Professionalism
- Values and Ethics
- Variety & Equality
- Rights, Justice and Financial Wellbeing
- Information
- Essential Reflection & Evaluation
- Expertise and Intervention
- Contexts & Organisations
- Skilled Management
- Professionalism
Establish and behave as an expert social employee, dedicated to skilled improvement.
Social employees are members of an internationally recognised occupation. The UK legislation protects the social work title.
We display skilled dedication by taking accountability for our conduct, follow, self-care, and improvement.
We search and use supervision and different skilled help.
We promote glorious follow and problem circumstances that compromise this.
As representatives of the occupation, we safeguard its popularity.
We’re accountable to folks utilizing providers, the general public, employers and the regulator.
We take moral selections within the context of a number of accountabilities.
In demonstrating proof of assembly the competency on professionalism, I clarify some sensible methods this may be achieved under.
Examples of how one can meet the professionalism area or competency are as follows;
- Politeness
Being well mannered to co-workers and purchasers, dressing professionally and upholding firm values is a part of being respectful in the direction of the folks you’re employed for/with.
On the subject of social work, professionalism is significant, as you’re usually coping with members of the general public every day.
- Symbolize your self professionally
Representing your self professionally helps to safeguard weak folks that you could be look after, and defending your self, do you have to be accused of appearing inappropriately whereas at work.
Though I all the time really feel social work is a rewarding profession, it requires an individual who can draw an apparent line between their house life and their work.
- Be taught new abilities
To keep up professionalism, don’t be afraid to study new abilities.
It will assist you to develop and turn into competent in your subject of follow.
- Don’t be egocentric
Don’t be egocentric and share your data together with your friends and colleagues who ask to your assist.
Generally, you could discover a helpful useful resource. It’s good follow to share this even with out being requested.
- Preserve a optimistic angle
Preserve a optimistic angle and encourage these round you.
Encourage and keep away from negativity as a lot as doable.
It solely brings others down.
- Reliability
Stay reliable.
Present up!
Be there if you’ve mentioned you’ll flip up.
Don’t enable excuses to be the order of the day in your life.
Handle your time successfully.
This contains managing your diary and protecting it updated.
Prioritise your actions and visits.
Hold your calendar updated.
Take into account threat evaluation and urgency of duties when planning.
You don’t need folks saying feedback like “it’s not uncommon for X to show up late”or “she/he’s all the time late”.
- Take cost of your private improvement
Don’t look ahead to a supervisor to provide the go forward to develop your self.
Take cost!
Establish areas you want to enhance.
Set a while apart and tackle some on-line coaching or pay for course at a College to reinforce your social work abilities additional!
- Plan and prepare supervision periods.
Use applicable reflective fashions equivalent to Gibbs, Kolbs or the Climate Mannequin throughout supervision.
Come ready with questions and search clarification on points you don’t perceive.
- Self-care
Your self-care is your accountability always.
The key to lasting success is self-care and steadiness.
To keep away from burnout or psychological breakdown, put your wellbeing first.
Spend money on your self by caring to your psychological, bodily and non secular well being, and in addition by doing issues that carry you pleasure.
Keep in mind, success on the velocity of steadiness.
As you journey by life and your social work profession, it’s a must to love your self by each storm.
Assembly the competency of professionalism instance:
| I recognised the next gaps in my data. Instance data across the Human Rights Act 1998. | I did the next to enhance my data on this space | Date |
- Values & Ethics
Values and ethics type a stable basis that helps to information social employees in all elements of their position inside the neighborhood.
Moral rules and a stable code of ethics present a set of pointers that social employees can check with when they’re not sure of the best plan of action or method to take.
By adhering to those values and ethics, a social employee could be assured that they’re appearing in a accountable and ethically proper method.
Working with folks of all ages, backgrounds, sexual orientation, and ethnicity requires a social employee to by no means turn into biased or discriminate when finishing up their duties.
All folks have to be handled with respect and equally.
As a way to obtain this, a social employee should;
(i) Perceive that their position could be advanced and there’s a have to develop practices and approaches to problem professionals inside the business in relation to discrimination.
(ii) Display data and sensible utility of the code of ethics outlined for social employees and query those that don’t adhere to them.
(iii) Analyse and assess your personal efficiency and handle private and typically conflicting values and moral dilemmas in role-play eventualities as a part of coaching and improvement work.
(iv) Use problem-solving abilities to beat moral dilemmas and supply options while being conscious of authorized necessities.
(v) At all times uphold a person’s rights to freedom of selection and self-determination.
Assembly the competency of values & ethics instance:
| I evidenced the next values whereas engaged on Case A: respect, empathy, anti-oppressive follow and many others. | That is how I evidenced these values. | Date |
- Variety & Equality
Variety and equality play a major position within the profession of a social employee.
Working inside a neighborhood, and particularly with weak members of society, a social employee’s place calls for a person to not solely recognise that variety exists in our society but in addition that equality is essential in your line of labor.
From race, class, and financial standing, to incapacity, age, gender, faith, and sexuality, our variations are what make us all distinctive.
Nevertheless, a social employee should perceive how variety can negatively have an effect on a person, and supply anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive providers, selling equality each time and wherever doable.
As a way to uphold this method, social employees should;
(i) Be capable to clearly establish and perceive all ranges of variety and the way discrimination can have an effect on folks in numerous methods.
(ii) Name out discriminatory and inequality practices, conditions, and repair suppliers professionally, whereas adhering to moral rules.
(iii) Assess your personal method, practices, and efficiency in relation to discrimination and equality, eradicating private opinions, beliefs, and stereotypes out of your work.
(iv) Problem others who will not be treating everybody equally, or discriminating based mostly on private perception programs.
(v) Always promote equality and scale back the chance of misuse of energy attributable to discrimination.
Assembly the competency of variety & equality instance:
| I recognised the necessity to enhance my cultural competence | That is how I improved upon it. | Date |
- Rights, Justice & Financial Wellbeing
Defend, uphold, and promote human rights, justice, and financial wellbeing.
These are all important duties that social employees have and constantly struggle for.
Human rights, backed by nationwide and worldwide legislation and laws, must be protected by social employees, so as to safeguard high quality of life.
Everybody deserves to guide a cheerful, wholesome, and protected life, protected by the legislation and given alternatives to enhance their way of life.
Social employees know all too properly how financial hardship, oppression, and discrimination can negatively influence people and households.
Because of this it’s so necessary that social employees problem instances of inequality, injustice, and discrimination they arrive throughout and supply help to these combating for his or her fundamental human rights.
As a way to obtain this, a social employee should;
(i) Combat for social justice, social inclusion, and equality inside society, offering help and steerage the place wanted.
(ii) Shine a light-weight on conditions the place the legislation has been interpreted solely to offer an optimum consequence for one social gathering whereas ignoring the rights of the opposite.
(iii) Examine, analyse, and consider conflicting rights and sophisticated instances, offering moral outcomes.
(iv) Work in the direction of bettering high quality of life and financial standing by training, employment alternatives, monetary assist, entry to well being providers, and sourcing housing if required.
(v) Assist to offer a voice to these being ignored, serving to to strengthen their case and put strain on service suppliers to seek out options.
Assembly the competency of rights, justice and financial wellbeing instance:
| I labored in partnership with different companies. | That is how I labored with company A. | Date |
- Information
Inside this occupation, data is energy and a social employee should develop their business data and consciousness of providers, options, and help at the moment out there to these in want.
With the ability to check with case research, theories and the legislation are key in growing data and changing into a greater social employee.
Social employees should additionally give again by offering their very own case research, assessments, and analysis, which contributes to this knowledge-sharing neighborhood.
By offering analysis and studying from different professionals, social employees can higher perceive advanced emotional instances, moral dilemmas and finest approaches, social-economic, psychological and environmental considerations, and points.
Case research and assessments assist to broaden a social employee’s consciousness of dangers equivalent to vulnerability, variety, injustice, and resistance to assist and providers. As a way to give again to the business, a social employee should;
(i) Actively broaden your business data by studying up on case research and being conscious of latest and related analysis to your line of labor.
(ii) Perceive potential threat elements equivalent to vulnerability, resistance, emotional trauma, and psychological considerations.
(iii) Be capable to display your data of theories and social work practices that relate to social welfare and dealing alongside different service suppliers.
(iv) Present useful suggestions as a social employee with analysis, stories, evaluations, and case research.
(v) Establish alternatives that will come up with the event and roll-out of latest expertise, digital options, and social media.
Assembly the competency of data instance:
| I’ve offered at a social work discussion board/group assembly | I evidenced my data round this subject by explaining the next: | Date |
- Essential Reflection & Evaluation
Skilled and moral decision-making requires important self-reflection.
Social employees should self-reflect and assess their very own efficiency and practices to make sure they’re appearing pretty and making use of skilled judgment and reasoning.
Whether or not it’s your method, technique or observations, a social employee should all the time critically mirror to stop private opinions or bias from impacting their selections and options.
Because of this supervision inside the business is crucial.
Ongoing analysis and evaluation assist to offer a high-quality and constant service to the general public.
Essential reflection is a needed a part of being a social employee.
There’s all the time room for enchancment, and self-reflection allows social employees to think about new methods to offer help and help, in addition to take a step again from a state of affairs or case.
By taking an outsider’s perspective, new options might reveal themselves, bettering the extent of service social employees present.
To display your means to critically mirror and analyse your personal efficiency you could;
(i) Display efficient important reflection in relation to your case and state of affairs.
(ii) Replicate and query, compiling a variety of proof from a wide range of sources when making a case choice.
(iii) Begin to present skilled suggestions and help to different service suppliers to assist strengthen your whole group.
(iv) Ensure that decision-making is predicated on a stable understanding of a case and that your proof has been checked for errors.
(v) Develop curiosity inside the office, utilizing your creativity to think about out-of-the-box concepts that would improve the providers that you’re offering inside the neighborhood.
Assembly the competency of important reflection and evaluation instance:
| I’ve used supervision to enhance my follow. | I discovered the next by supervision. | Date |
- Expertise & Interventions
Interventions are typically unavoidable and rely closely on a social employee’s set of abilities, judgment and business data to attain optimistic outcomes {and professional} help.
To minimise hurt, trauma, and adverse oblique implications, a social employee should develop the talents to hold out skilled interventions which can be in the very best curiosity of the people concerned.
This may apply to 1 particular person, a household, or a bunch of individuals inside a neighborhood.
To achieve success, social employees should talk successfully and construct belief.
Solely when belief and respect are achieved, will any dimension or scale of intervention work.
Social employee abilities contain skilled communication.
These abilities will usually take time to develop however will make your position as a social employee more practical and results-driven.
After a number of years within the business, communication will turn into second-nature, whether or not you’re educating, advising, supporting, or persuading.
Self-reflection and self-evaluation assist to strengthen these abilities additional. Listed below are the talents you will want to succeed;
(i) Display a powerful means to speak professionally and clearly with out emotion main or influencing your line of thought.
(ii) Reply professionally to adverse responses and act as an authority even when confronted with difficult conditions.
(iii) Construct robust working relationships with service suppliers and members of the neighborhood to generate efficient options.
(iv) Self-reflect and present methods wherein you are attempting to develop your abilities and enhance your efficiency. Report and report your assessments, judgments, and selections.
(v) Confidently risk-assess and make skilled and ethically sound selections to safeguard people, households, or teams of individuals
Assembly the competency of abilities and intervention instance:
| I used applicable theories and interventions when working with shopper A | I used the next related theories and interventions | Date |
- Contexts & Organisations
Society and insurance policies can usually change with out a lot warning, and these adjustments could cause battle and issues inside communities.
As a social employee, you have to be reactive, adaptive, and resilient to vary. Main by instance, a social employee should assess any change of context or change inside organisations and adapt their method accordingly.
By dealing with challenges head-on and constantly appearing in an expert method, a social employee can assist talk new adjustments and assist these successfully overcome any difficulties {that a} change might trigger.
Usually, social employees are knowledgeable of latest alternatives, adjustments and challenges which can be caused when a coverage is up to date or amended.
This permits a social employee to think about the coverage’s influence on the neighborhood and take into account choices and options earlier than dilemmas even come up. Working beneath an moral code of conduct, social works ought to attempt to carry on prime of potential adjustments to insurance policies as a lot as doable.
To display your resilience and response to challenges and adjustments it’s best to;
(i) Pay attention to potential upcoming adjustments to insurance policies that will influence the neighborhood.
(ii) Present your means to problem-solve and supply efficient options to dilemmas or issues {that a} change in coverage may create.
(iii) Display your curiosity in altering insurance policies by forming relationships with influential organisations and native communities.
(iv) Entry help and authorized recommendation in relation to challenges and adjustments to insurance policies so as to present skilled practices that help and help others.
(v) Acknowledge and talk about with policy-makers how organisations can enhance their practices to offer optimum outcomes for members of the general public.
Assembly the competency of contexts and organisations instance:
| I took energetic half in a group assembly and contributed to discussions | I attended the next group assembly, and this was my contribution to the dialogue | Date |
- Skilled Management
Turning into a revered {and professional} social employee means taking accountability to your personal studying, coaching and improvement.
In case you hope to someday place your self as an business chief, you could have the ability to affect others and turn into a part of collective skilled management.
This position will contain influencing industries, policymakers and different social employees too.
To take your profession to the subsequent stage and work in the direction of changing into an expert chief, you could make investments time into self-reflection, self-improvement, and self-discipline.
You will have to participate in advancing social work follow, supervising entry-level social employees, educating others on the significance of social work, and finishing up your personal analysis, assessments, and stories.
You ought to be making use of creativity, expertise, and innovation to your position and utilizing social media positively.
To attain management roles on this business, you also needs to be totally conscious of the various advanced challenges that social employees might face immediately, equivalent to the event of expertise, social media affect, and new insurance policies that will rework the business.
To display this inside your work you could;
(i) Take the initiative to self-reflect, self-evaluate, and actively contribute to the event of the follow.
(ii) Be selling the significance of social work and its optimistic influence inside the neighborhood.
(iii) Contribute to the training of others, by compiling case research, finishing up assessments, and reporting by yourself work.
(iv) Participate in social work skilled improvement and coaching each on-line and the place alternatives come up to affect organisations and coverage makers.
(v) Be out there to assist social work college students, sharing your business data, skilled steerage, and recommendation.
Assembly the competency {of professional} management instance:
| I proactively made a referral to some companies. | Because of this and the way I made the referral. | Date |
What number of competencies are there’s social work?
Social work competencies within the US.
The Council on Social Work Training, the accrediting company for social work training in america, mandates that each one Grasp of Social Work packages develop and implement an specific curriculum that prepares graduates for follow by mastering a set of 9 core competencies.
In america, (US) the 9 competencies embody:
- Display moral {and professional} habits
- Interact variety and distinction in follow
- Advance human rights and social, financial and setting justice
- Interact in practice-informed analysis and research-informed follow
- Interact in coverage follow
- Interact with people, households, teams, organisations and communities.
- Assess people, households, teams, organisations and communities.
- Intervene with people, households, teams, organisations and communities.
- Consider follow with people, households, teams, organisations and communities.
References
BASW.co.uk. https://www.basw.co.uk/social-work-training/professional-capabilities-framework-pcf
Coulshed, V. & Orme, J. (2012). Social Work Observe. 5th edn: Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Howe, D. (1998). Relationship-based considering and follow in social work, Journal of Social Work Observe 16 (2), pp 45 – 46.
Hudson, B. L. & Sheldon, B. (2000). The cognitive- behavioural method in: M. Davies (Ed.) Encyclopaedia of Social Work (Oxford, Oxford College Press).
Salzberger – Wittenberg, I. (1970) Psycho-Analytic Perception, and Relationships (London, Routledge).
Trevithick, P. (2000) Social Work Expertise: a Observe Handbook (Buckingham, Open College Press).
For additional particulars about utility of PCF and the holistic method, please see the next hyperlinks:
- https://www.basw.co.uk/professional-development/professional-capabilities-framework-pcf/the-pcf
- http://www.collegeofsocialwork.org/pcf.aspx for an interactive model of the PCF and a number of other articles about its utility www.skillsforcare.org.uk
- https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2018/03/02/new-professional-capabilities-framework-adds-three-overarching-principles-social-workers/
- “Information to the Skilled Functionality Framework and the Assessed and Supported 12 months in Employment”: by Dr Hilary Lawson; College of Sussex, February 2013: out there by Neighborhood Care INFORM
