Training of Social workers in Ukraine
What has been done in the field of training of social workers in Ukraine? This question was answed at the conference called: "First Results of Social Workers' Training in Ukraine" held on January 27-28, 1998. It was organized by the School of Social Work of the National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and TACIS - the project «Social Protection in Ukraine».
The concept of social work was emphasized to be new for Ukraine, as well as a profession of a social worker Nevertheless, first steps have already been made in this direction.-Some years ago training courses for social workers started their work. Instructing is performed at three levels: basic, intermediate and advanced Soon Ukraine will see social protection managers, social teachers, experts in social policy and work etc. The most attention is focused on profound professional education, delivering knowledge of social work: history, theory methods of influencing and estimates of people's needs.. Knowledge of psychology, sociology, law. as well as good practice in respective establishments are considered to be essential. There are training programs for people both experienced and freshmen in the field of social work.
The lack of knowledge in social policy and work is an urgent problem to be solved. That is why receiving education of a social worker is partially sponsored by international organizations. It is hard to overestimate the rich experience of European and American social workers. The European program TACIS has supported the training of social work experts of different educational establishments. Social workers of the basic level are trained in Zhytomyr; junior experts - in Chemigiv college of law, Bachelors of Social Work are trained at Uzhhorod University, Mohyla Academy offers a graduate Master's program on social work and policy. The qualification improvement courses are based at the Academy of State Management, the Kharkiv, Kyiv Shevchenko Universities and different pedagogical institutions also offer their programs on training social workers.
Preparation of social workers in Great Britain
Very different sorts of people can be successful in social work. Social workers need to be able to cope with conflict and to be able to make decisions, perhaps against the will of their clients. At the same time, where possible social workers should allow clients to make their own decisions and encourage self-determination. Social workers should be able to get along with a wide variety of other people without falling back on stereotyped notions. Understanding, patience and sympathy are important qualities for social work. B
Social workers need skills in assessing situations and needs. They need to be organized in recordkeeping and filling information. Finally social workers need knowledge of resources which may be useful to clients and an understanding of the working of society and individual psychology.
Training for social work aims to develop skills and abilities in all these areas, through development of personal skills and teaching of psychology, sociology and social administration. Pre-service training combines theoretical knowledge with supervised practice in a variety of placements.
In Great Britain social work training is organized by Central Council in Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW). CCETSW validates courses of social work training in universities and colleges. The basis professional qualification for social workers is the Diploma in Social Work ( DipSW).