Category: Employment

Suggestions for dealing with the stresses of social worker jobs

In recent years, social work jobs have become rather less popular as a career choice for school leavers, as a few high profile cases have drawn attention to the negative side of social services jobs.  Most notably, in the case of the tragic death of the infant known as Baby P, the social work team was landed by national newspapers with a significant amount of the blame for the events that lead to the child’s death.  However, the recent decision of the Sun newspaper to apologise unreservedly and pay undisclosed compensation to the social worker involved in the tragedy may give some hope to those who are worried about the effect of the press’s representation of the case on anybody considering social worker jobs.

Sylvia Henry, who was a social worker in Haringey, London for 23 years, was accused in articles published in the Sun of having been ‘grossly negligent’ in her handling of the Baby P case, and it was stated that  she was ‘thereby to blame for his appalling abuse and death’.  The newspaper had also alleged that Henry had shown no remorse for her failings, and had ducked responsibility for the child’s death.  The litigation disputed a series of articles published in the newspaper over four months from November 2008, which also stated that Henry was lazy and had often shown disregard for the safety of children.  As anybody who is employed within social services jobs tends to be motivated by a strong concern for the welfare of the children under their care, these allegations were surely extremely upsetting for Sylvia Henry.

The Sun also ran a ‘Justice for Baby P’ campaign, which named Henry and called for certain Harringey social services staff to be made redundant and barred from any future work with children.  The newspaper gathered 1.6 million signatures for its petition, which was taken to Downing Street.  After court proceedings between Henry and the newspaper, a spokesperson said that the Sun ‘unreservedly accepts that there is no justification for any of the allegations’, adding that she was not to blame in any way for anything done by the local services that may have contributed to baby Peter’s terrible abuse and death. Moreover, they accepted that she had done her very best for Peter, even making efforts to have him placed in foster care.

Many people with an interest in social work jobs have seen this decision as a positive move in terms of the tendency of the media to conduct witch-hunts against those in social services jobs in high profile cases such as this.  When a tragedy occurs, there is surely enough misery and heartbreak already, without having to drag those in social worker jobs through a professional and personal trial by the media.

Please visit http://www.socialworkandcarejobs.com/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.socialworkandcarejobs.com/

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What do social work jobs look like in practice?

social work jobs come in numerous different shapes and forms, but they all involve generally the same thing. Social worker jobs entail working with those who are having difficulties in one form or another due to their exclusion from society, or position on the edges of it. That can mean a few things. Around a half of all social services jobs involve working with young people and families who are experiencing problems in different areas – often due to financial disadvantage, or reasons resulting from it.

The times most of us hear about social workers are when things have gone wrong and cases hit the news. These typically involve young children in abusive family settings – which is one field where social workers are certainly busy and may have to make extremely difficult calls about what is best for the welfare of the child. However, this ‘public face’ of social work is only one aspect of it. You may be working with young offenders – either within an institutional setting or outside of it – or with children who are often skipping school.

On the other hand, you might find yourself working with people with learning or physical disabilities – either young or adult – which mean that they cannot take part in life to the extent that the rest of us often take for granted. Those with drug and alcohol habits could be part of your caseload, and the other major group of people who you will spend time with are the elderly. Given the UK’s changing demographic and the fact that the ‘baby boom’ generation is just starting to retire, it’s reasonable to say that the elderly will probably form a greater part of social work in the future.

The duties entailed in social worker jobs are many and varied, but it’s important to remember that you won’t be working alone. By their nature social work jobs involve working with many different agencies, including health and legal services. Some of your time will be spent with clients, including families and children, aiming to establish their situation so that you can decide how best to help them. But social services jobs also involve plenty of meetings with other professionals and, of course, writing up reports and assessments – worth bearing in mind if office work and admin isn’t your forte.

Please visit http://www.sanctuarypersonnel.com/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.sanctuarypersonnel.com/

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Graduate jobs – now available in cyberspace

It’s a cliché to say that the internet has changed the whole of our lives but when it comes to tracking downyour dream job as a graduate, it definitelyholds true. Whereas the end of University days used to mean scouring dusty folders at the Careers Centre for information on graduate scheme and internship jobs, all that has altered. Not only do companies have their own web-sites, making it easier to track down information on graduate jobs but much of the business of the careers service is also now done on-line. Whether it’s sending out weekly job listings or making most of their services available from the comfort of a student laptop, universities know that getting their graduates into top jobs involves less paper and more PCs.

However, one thing has not changed in this cyber-dominated world. Landing yourself the right job – and that’s one that you find satisfying and interesting as well as one that pays of that mountain of student debt at a pleasing rate – still involves insider knowledge not usually available on company web-sites.  It also requires the honing of specific people skills such as negotiation. This is where a whole new breed of independent careers sites comes in, maximising everything the internet can offer to help students get into the graduate jobs or the places on graduate scheme which they so want.

Take CareerPlayer.com, for instance. Some of what they do mimics a good student careers office – they link up job seekers with information about internship jobs or provide information on the major milk round employers, for instance. However, they can also offer things that until now were only available to the very well connected, proving that the web is indeed a socially equalising medium. Curious about a career in journalism? There’s a video interview with a key player in the business. Fancy yourself as a civil servant? The video clips from people who have trodden that path before you may inspire or put you off. There is an expansive library of these clips, all available at the click of a mouse, covering every major industry.

Better still, there are clips on every stage of the application process, from how to cope with assessment centres or psychometric testing to clinching the deal at the last interview. Each stage of the process is covered with written information available where it’s more appropriate.

With the current market for graduate jobs a competitive one, (although, according to the latest figures, not as gloomy as some had predicted), one can only expect that those determined to land the coveted places on graduate scheme or those precious first-step-on-the-ladder internship jobs will increasingly be turning to these alternative providers of careers advice. Frankly, they’d be foolish not to.

Please visit http://www.careerplayer.com/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.careerplayer.com/

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Nursing home manager jobs and your career

Home manager jobs come in different types, though there is naturally some overlap in the kinds of roles and work you will be expected to fulfil. Care home manager jobs, for example, could involve anyone in the spectrum of care, from young to old, disabled, seriously ill, and so on. nursing home manager jobs will clearly need many of the same skills and training, with a slightly different emphasis. Either way, you will need the same qualities and often qualifications, too. These may be a relevant social work qualification, a nursing diploma, or an NVQ at level 4 in health and social care.

Remuneration for home manager jobs can differ significantly depending on experience. At the start of your career, when you are first qualified, you might expect to earn something in the region of £20,000 – under the national mean. However, there is room for advancement, and the most experienced managers might receive £45,000 per year. After that, there are further opportunities, as well; you might move into area management, overseeing groups of homes or inspecting or training – or even other areas of social work or management. The opportunities are numerous. Plus, it is worth knowing that this is an expanding field. The demand for residential care is only going to increase in the coming years, as the Baby Boom generation collects its pension and a demographic bump passes into the care system. This ‘pig in the python’, as it has been termed, is a serious worry for the government, who have recently been debating the advantages of various different schemes for funding care during retirement. However it is funded, this is someone else’s problem – as someone looking for a career in home managing, you are likely to have a growing list of jobs to choose from. There is already a shortage of personnel in the area, particularly in the private sector, and the chances are that this is only going to get worse in the near future.

Thus considering searching for home manager jobs is to start on a reliable and hopefully rewarding career – though not one without its challenges. Whether you look for nursing home manager jobs or care home manager jobs, you are going to need much the same capabilities, experience and qualifications. Some of these can be acquired on the job. However, much of it is about character more than qualifications, so be sure to check you are right to the role first – perhaps through some work experience or volunteering.

Please visit http://www.aboutcare.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.aboutcare.co.uk/

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