School of Social Work Provides Meaningful Career Opportunities in The Community
Did you know that in the U.S.,
the employment of social service workers is expected to increase faster
than the average for all occupations through 2018? Social Workers who
have attend a reliable School
of Social Work, are
employed to help varying populations including: seniors, assaulted women
and children, people with mental illness and developmental
disabilities, youth and the homeless or under housed. In their
positions, Social Workers offer guidance and counseling to people in
crisis, obtain government funds for clients, arrange foster homes for
children, and begin legal action in cases of child abuse.
In order to ensure that they are
Social Workers are carrying out these often-sensitive tasks
diplomatically, there are a few steps that must be taken. First, the
social worker contacts each client after being assigned a number of
cases to determine the scopes of the situation. Clients are then
counseled and provided with resources to meet their needs. During this
process, the social worker maintains meticulous notes for documentation
purposes. He or she also works with other agencies to provide the best
services. Tasks vary by where the social service worker is employed.
Before becoming a social worker, you
must attend a college or university to gain post-secondary
accreditation. One option is Centennial College’s School of
Social Work program, which
takes two years to complete, results in an Ontario College Diploma and
allows you to work at entry-level positions at shelters, community
centres, group homes and advocacy coalitions.
Students in the Social Work program will learn to reflect upon
how values and ideologies contribute to the construction of social
problems and prescribed solutions. They will learn to ally with people
to develop and improve resources that assist people to resolve problems
and enhance quality of life. This knowledge is achieved in a variety of
ways such as interactive learning opportunities, including experiences
in assessing communities, developing and writing funding proposals,
social action plans as well as simulated client interviews and
assessments; engagement in a dynamic learning process with exposure to
group labs, guest speakers, experiential learning, collaborative
learning and inter-professional opportunities with other students; and
participation in a supported, intensive field placement providing the
opportunity to apply and integrate classroom learning.
During the application process at
the School of Social Work, students must present at minimum an Ontario
Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of age or
older. Students must also have completed the compulsory English 12C or U
or skills assessment, or equivalent. Non-academic requirements such as a
program admission session and English proficiency are also considered.
As the Social Service Worker program has a field placement component
during which students obtain “real-life” experiences, a criminal
reference check might be required. Certain criminal convictions may
disallow placement in an agency and program completion may not be
possible. For more information, please check the School
of Social Work’s
admissions page.
