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Social work and counselling services

This type of work involves working with people. You may be caring for them, helping or advising them. The work can be quite demanding but can also be very rewarding. 

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MyChoiceNotts

Are you interested in getting a qualification in this area? Look for a course at local sixth forms and FE colleges on My Choice Notts(Nottinghamshire and just over the border). For higher education courses go to UCAS

 

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Vacancies Online

Search for local job vacancies and Apprenticeship opportunities in the sector you're interested in.

 

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Find out more about the Diploma in Society, Health and Development course here. You may also be interested in the Diploma in Public Services course.

This area of work is usually quite challenging because it involves dealing with many different types of people. You may be caring for children or the elderly, counselling and advising people who need help or organising charity fundraising.

Whether you are a child minder, a care worker in a residential home, a social worker, psychologist or probation officer - you may find yourself working evenings or weekends and you could occasionally find yourself in tricky situations. Some jobs, such as personal adviser, youth or social worker are mainly office-based but you might spend a lot of your time out on visits to people's homes or in schools or youth centres. Other jobs may be based in children's nurseries or schools, (like a play worker or nursery nurse) or residential homes and could be physically demanding.

This type of work, however, can be very rewarding. You may be helping people to make life-changing decisions or you could be helping to raise money that will make a real difference in peoples' lives. But whatever job you do, you will need to have a responsible attitude and be able to get on with all sorts of people. 

How can you get into this type of work? 

Your Personal Adviser will be able to discuss your options with you.

  • School or college - study for GCSEs, AS / A levels, a diploma, NVQs or other vocational qualifications that could lead to a job, an Apprenticeship, further qualifications or even a degree.

  • e2e (Entry to Employment) - if you’re not sure if you’re suited to this job you might be able to get some work experience through e2e. It can also give you extra support to gain the right qualifications, get onto a training programme or get a job.

  • Apprenticeship - train ‘on-the-job’ with a wage or allowance. For the latest Apprenticeship vacancies in Nottinghamshire go to Vacancies Online.

  • Work or work with training

What else can I do? 

 

As well as qualifications, employers also look for the skills
people have when they’re applying for jobs. Here are the
skills that most employers are looking for from you:

  • Communication
  • Team work 
  • Leadership


You'll also need to be

  • Responsible and caring

  • Like working with people

 

Skills

Four one pound pieces

Wages will vary depending on where in the country you work and between different organisations.

Job title

Average weekly salary*

Average annual salary

Care home assistant

£248.40

£12,917

Careers adviser

£466.80

£24,274

Housing and welfare officer

£414.30

£21,544

Nursery nurse

£234.50

£12,194

Residential home manager

£545.80

£28,382
Playgroup leader/assistants £105.10 £5,464

Social worker

£554.80

£28,850
Social services manager £685.30 £35,636

Youth worker

£384.30

£19,984

Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, ONS 2009

*Based on gross pay (before you have anything taken out) and not including overtime.

What's happening in the industry?

Over 1.8 million people work in the social care sector in the UK. This includes social workers, childcare assistants, youth workers and occupational therapists.

This is a growing sector for several reasons: people are living beyond retirement for longer, needing more care; children’s services and care is being given a high priority; more healthcare is being delivered in the community.

There's a shortage of childminders at the moment and this is mainly to do with changes to how they work.

Recently, the government has been working to improve the qualifications of some of the people who work in this sector. This means new ways of training in social work and raising the qualifications of childcare staff (for example introducing the new role of early years professional).

Care workers and care assistants are the biggest group of workers in this field but there are serious skills shortages and a high turnover of staff which means that people are leaving their jobs all the time. More workers are needed in this job area as people are living longer after retirement and need care to an older age.   Due to recent changes in regulations young people aged 16 to 18 can now be employed as apprentice carers in care homes . 

The voluntary or charity sector has also grown a lot over the last 10 years. Some staff are volunteers but around 600,000 workers in this sector are paid. Most jobs in the voluntary sector are in the areas of social care, housing, health care and education. There is strong competition for jobs in the well-known charities but people with skills and experience are always needed - especially for jobs such as social worker, development worker and fundraiser. 

Pay rates in this sector are low compared to the rest of Europe.

There are many opportunities to work overseas in the Social Care sector but applications for work will depend on the specific needs of a country and demand can change quite rapidly.

 There may be opportunities overseas for... 

  • social work professionals
  • nannies
  • childcare workers in the tourism sector  

See the 'Notts Info' section for what's happening locally.

The health and social care sector is one of the largest employment sectors in Nottinghamshire and is expected to provide many additional jobs over the next few years.  As well as new jobs, Nottinghamshire is expected to need around 9,000 workers to replace those who leave. 

Young people are desperately needed, because around a quarter of the workforce is over 50 and only about 1% are under 21(1).  In recent years organisations, such as the NHS, have been attempting to recruit more apprentices to meet this need.  New apprenticeships training is planned in some medical areas.  Larger hospitals - Nottingham University Hospitals, at City and QMC campuses, and Sherwood Forest Hospitals in Mansfield - employ large numbers of non-medical workers – for example Health Care Support Workers look after patients personal needs on wards.  

While childcare is still a popular work area for young people, other areas of social care are not so well known but have opportunities. 

Due to changes in regulations young people aged 16 to 18 can now be employed in care homes as Apprentice Carers.  More residential homes in Nottinghamshire are likely to recruit young people.  In North Nottinghamshire particularly, more residential care homes are needed so more young people will be needed to work in them too. 

Many schools have local authority run nurseries attached.  There are also independent nurseries which tend to have longer hours. Nottinghamshire County and Nottingham City councils support the national aim of having higher levels of training in childcare by funding professional training.  

Workers in the social care industry in Nottinghamshire:  

Over 24,000 people  are employed in the social care sector (2)  

Around half of the workforce work part time(3). 

 Over 8 out of 10 workers are female( 4). Many childcare organisations would like to recruit more male workers.  

Number of people employed in the social care sector in Nottinghamshire

 

Area of Nottinghamshire

Number of workers

Ashfield

1,914

Bassetlaw

2,135

Broxtowe

1,854

Gedling

1,756

Mansfield

2,573

Newark and Sherwood

2,872

Nottingham

8,896

Rushcliffe

2,404

Total

24,406



Source: Annual Business Inquiry, 2008

See also Healthcare

Key employers in the social care sectors:  

NHS

Sure Start run government funded Children’s Centres – throughout Notts 

Adult Social Care and Health Services (Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council) 

Children and Young Peoples Services (Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council) 

Connexions Nottinghamshire 

Private day nurseries and playgroups 

Private residential and care homes 

This list is just a guide – there are many more employers. Some organisations, especially the NHS advertise on their own websites. 

Fetch

Fetch!

Fetch the dog will guide you to websites where you can get more information on careers that interest you.

 

Jobs 4 U

Jobs4U

Find out more about specific jobs in this sector:

  • what's it like?
  • getting in
  • pay and benefits
  • similar jobs
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