Great expectations? The career aspirations of social work students

Abstract

This research, conducted in 1998, examines the career expectations of student social workers as they approach the end of their DipSW training. The study looked at students' attitudes towards seeking a job following the end of their course, including their aspirations and their self-assessed readiness to practise. It also looked at the perspective of local social work agencies, seeking their views on how well prepared newly qualified social workers are for the realities of practice. The majority of students were planning to seek full-time employment in the statutory sector with local social work agencies in the field of community care. Most students did not expect to be promoted within the first five years after qualifying; job satisfaction was regarded as more important than career development. In the longer term, however, the majority envisaged that they would progress beyond the level of basic grade social worker. Issues were identified in relation to students' perceived readiness to practise, the availability of suitable employment in the area of students' preference, and the numbers of social work students able to work through the medium of Welsh.