Monday, March 7, 2011

Social Worker

Social Service

The social worker interacts with people in order to help them overcome or adapt to their problems and debilities. Helping the disabled to adjust to their disabilities, offering commiserations to the emotionally disturbed, counselling a rape victim, showing compassion to the disadvantaged, rehabilitating the drug addict and the criminal and alleviating such other evils as poverty, unemployment, social discrimination etc. are some of the duties of the social worker.

Job Market:
The qualified persons can find employment in non-governmental welfare organisations, and as Welfare Officers in corporate houses. They can also function as criminologists, psychiatric social workers, family welfare officers, child welfare officers, juvenile delinquent welfare workers etc. They also have a useful role to play in drug and alcohol dea-ddiction centres, old age homes, orphanages, crisis management units, rural education and health etc. Thus the trained personnel have myriad opportunities to usefully serve society.

Training Programmes:
Bachelor in Social Work (BSW) and Master in Social Work (MSW) are regular programmes offered in many centres. BSW is a 3 year course available to those who have completed +2/equivalent. MSW is a 2 year programme offered after BSW/B.A (Sociology)/B.A in any social science. Those interested in pursuing a career in education or research could pursue M.Phil and Ph.D in this field.

3 comments:

  1. Counselling

    Counsellors' client groups are diverse: they could be young couples requiring marriage guidance and counselling, younger people with emotional problems, people in stressful jobs, patients in a hospital, students or those seeking employment.
    The qualities required to become a good counsellor are percep-tiveness, sensitivity, and the ability to inspire confidence.
    School guidance Counsellors

    Guidance and counselling is a comparatively new addition to the field of education. In metropolitan cities there is a trend in schools to have a guidance section where students get help from professional counsellors in educational, personal and vocational matters. The counsellor provides support to the child's development at school and acts as a catalyst to help provide a conducive envi-ronment for growth and development.

    Behavioural Counsellors
    They work with individuals who have problems which they find difficult to face alone. These persons are not usually mentally or emotionally ill, but are often emotionally upset, anxious or strug-gling with some conflict which may be within themselves or in the environment.

    Marriage Counsellors
    They help to sort out the marital problems of their clients. They talk to them and make them voice their grievances. They essentially help couples resolve their differences.

    Entry: Though formal training is not essential, individuals who are interested in taking up counselling as a career would do well to specialize. Most counsellors have a background in psychology as this provides an insight into human behaviour which helps them understand the problems of their clients better.

    Training: A large number of institutions provide a postgraduate diploma in guidance and counselling. The duration of the course varies from a year to two years. One can also enter this field after doing a postgraduate study in psychology.
    Eligibility: Candidates who have secured a Master's degree in any area are eligible for a diploma in counselling. Some institutions have a diploma course for which graduates of any discipline are eligible.

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  2. Public Relations

    Public Relations is a management function by which the organisation makes a deliberate, planned and sustained effort to address its public and generate and maintain a spirit of mutual understanding with them. In the highly complex modern world, the need for efficient communications systems cannot be under estimated. It becomes imperative for an organisa-tion to explicate in precise and scrupulous manner its chief concerns and objectives. Public Relations is an exercise in corporate image engineering. The Public Relations practitioner endeavours to make the company more acceptable to its different publics. By maintaining a clear communications network between the management and employees, the P.R. expert ensures internal cohesion in the company.

    By disseminating the right image of the company to the external public, he ensures the respectability and public acceptance of the company. The role of the P.R. Specialist becomes pertinent in crisis situations when the correct and timely transmission of vital information can help save the face of the organisation.

    Job Market:
    Employment opportunities exist in all large and small organisations, government departments, corporate houses, public sector undertakings, hospitals, hotels, tourist agencies, banks, financial institutions, schools, colleges, universities, etc. Sometimes, even individuals who have a public image can benefit from the expertise of a P.R. specialist. Training Programmes: In order to become a trained P.R. professional, the aspirant can choose from a variety of progra-mmes. An M.B.A from a reputed institution is one option. A degree in Public Relations or Mass Communications can also lead to a Public Relations job. Diploma and P.G. diploma courses in Public Relations of 1 to 2 years duration are also available. Public Relations is also taught as part of courses in Journalism and Advertising. Eligibility for the degree courses is a pass in 10+2 and for the Masters and diploma programmes is a graduate degree in any discipline.

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  3. General practice of Social Workers. - The following shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred pesos nor more than two thousand pesos, or imprisonment for not less than one month nor more than two years, or both, in the discretion of the court;

    1. Any person who shall practice or offer to practice social work in the Philippines without being registered or exempted from registration in accordance with the provisions of this Act;
    2. Any person representing or attempting to use as his own, the certificate of registration of another;
    3. Any person who shall give any false or fraudulent evidence of any kind to the Board or any member thereof in obtaining a certificate of registration as a social worker;
    4. Any person who shall impersonate any registrant of like or different name;
    5. Any person who shall attempt to use a revoked or suspended certificate of registration;
    6. Any person who shall in connection with his or her name, otherwise assume, use or advertise any title or description tending to convey the impression that he or she is a social worker without holding a valid certificate;
    7. Any person who shall violate any provision of this Act;35
    8. Any person, corporation or entity operating as a social work agency without the corresponding Certificate of Registration issued by the Social Welfare Administration.36 (Redesignated a subparagraph (h) by Sec. 6, R.A. No. 5157)

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