Calling all Social Workers

It should not affect those already here.  If you are in a job, when you come to extend, the Home Office are likely to say that if you are staying in the same job, or if you are moving employer but doing the same job, it will be okay.  This has not been firmly stated yet, but it is what they have done in the past.

The main difference with new applicants is that social work is being taken off the shortage skill list.  This means that if you are recruited to a post in the UK and need a work permit, the employer will have to jump through more hoops to get the permi.  As yet, we don't know exactly what this will mean.

Vicky

Hm.  Any idea when it's going into effect?

End of November is my understanding....amazing considering I have yet to work in a fully staffed Children's Service, and have worked for 4 authorities so far.

Truly insane.  And irritating!  You'd think they would just up the qualification requirements for foreign social workers as opposed to bumping the profession from the list altogether.

But as far as I'm concerned, this is just another hoop through which to jump.  I'm determined to get my foot through the door one way or another. 

Good attitute to take, I am sure that you are correct that the doors are not shut, there are always ways if you want into the UK badly enough.  The need for Social Workers here is great, especially good quality high level experienced Social Workers in Child Protection.  It is difficult work though....  I have been working here for nearly 4 years now, agency for the last 1.5 years, if you have any questions feel free to PM me.

Thanks, Joseph.  I really do hope it's a good attitude to take and not a foolish one! 

Sent you a PM.   

Yikes!

An article about the situation:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/sep/10/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices

 

Just to say...we don;t know for sure that there will be a block on all recruitment outside of the shortage list.  It is possible (likely) that where employers can still show a need it will be possible.  We suspect that, as this will be a points system, there will be x points for being on the shortage list, but y points for salary, so someone with a good salary can still get the permit, even if they are not on the list.

In the public sector this is tricky, but it may have the result of driving salaries up.

Vicky

Just to say...we don;t know for sure that there will be a block on all recruitment outside of the shortage list.  It is possible (likely) that where employers can still show a need it will be possible.   We suspect that, as this will be a points system, there will be x points for being on the shortage list, but y points for salary, so someone with a good salary can still get the permit, even if they are not on the list.

In the public sector this is tricky, but it may have the result of driving salaries up.

Vicky

That's what I was thinking yesterday.  I think social workers may be able to score enough salary points in Tier 2 to make up for being removed from the shortage list.  Maybe?  And it seems that many social work agencies in the UK will still be able to show the need for non-British/non-EU workers, simply because there's no way the demand for social workers has been filled.  But if I'm wrong, then they should definitely let Australia, the US, Mexico, South Africa, Ireland (to name a few) in on their secret, since social workers are still very much in demand/on the shortage list in those countries.

But from the (two) articles I've read, I get the feeling this change is less about filling demand and more about...something else.  Similar to what was being discussed in the Tier 5 thread.

Has anyone checked out the new GSCC application for workers trained outside of the UK?  It's loads easier!  The infamous Part 2 of the pre-October '08 application has been completely tossed out, meaning no more Core Competencies.  And the only evidence that needs to be shown and verified are proof of identity (i.e. photo page of the passport and one other form of ID) and proof of qualifications (i.e. copy of degree or official transcript).  Also, the Acceptable Verifier list has been expanded beyond the Registrar and the Dean for recent college grads.  Now you can use the Head of Faculty or a Senior Lecturer.

So with all the craziness going on, at least that portion of the process has eased up a bit.

Ahhh, not fair!  I slaved over those damn core competencies last year   But no really, that's fantastic.

In good news, I got notice today that my work permit has been granted!  (I did BUNAC last winter, applied for a position with the council at the time of my leaving, and have been waiting since...got a tad concerned when I heard about the upcoming list change)  Yay for beating the change in the shortage list!

YAY!  Congrats!!!     So you've been waiting for your work permit since last winter?  Oh man, the anxiety must have driven you nuts...

How awesome for you, though!  And just as great that you got in before the changes.  As far as the GSCC goes, it's become a bit of a trade-off now.  More work went into the pre-October '08 applications, but there are no wild hoops to jump through regarding a work permit since social work is still on the shortage list.  But now it's changing so that the GSCC application may be easier, but getting the permit might become a bit of a hassle (probably moreso for employers than potential employees - but still, an employer's burden always becomes the employee's burden one way or another). 

I emailed UK-Pro in reference to the upcoming changes, and Nicole Miller said that UK-Pro are working on some changes of their own, I guess to go along with everything that's happening.  She said she'll have some updates in a few weeks and told me to keep in touch between now and May.  So that sounds like a good sign.  I'm hoping so at least.

Personally, I think I'd rather have taken the horrific GSCC application over the removal from the shortage list.  I can't proceed with anything until the new immigration Tiers are officially implemented, and waiting for that to happen has been a nightmare.  Clearly, patience is not a virtue in my book.   

Personally, I think I'd rather have taken the horrific GSCC application over the removal from the shortage list.  I can't proceed with anything until the new immigration Tiers are officially implemented, and waiting for that to happen has been a nightmare.  Clearly, patience is not a virtue in my book.   

I agree. And the core competencies document is what social work students in the UK have to do anyways - it provides more solid evidence of equivalence, IMO.

Maybe they saw common themes among foreign-qualified applicants who were educated in the same country, so they decided to set up application requirements based on country.  What I mentioned above pertains to those qualified in the US, but from what I've seen, it looks like how much evidence you have to provide is dependent on where you received your training. 

That's just a wild guess on my part.  I'd be interested to know why they decided to change it.

Hi fellow social worker types!  I've just arrived in Portsmouth from Chicago, and am in the thick of searching for a social work job.  I've been working with UK Pro and have registered with the GSCC and all that before arriving, but upon showing up in Portsmouth, I've found the whole job-hunting thing a lot harder than I thought it would be.  :-(  Almost all available jobs in the Portsmouth/Southampton/Hampshire area are for Team/Unit Manager positions, nothing on the entry level or temp side.  That in of itself is frustrating, since in Chicago, I would totally be moving into more management positions at this point in my career--I feel like I have to start all over again here!  I do have an interview tomorrow in Surrey, but that's a 2hour train ride away, and the daily train ride expense is a bit---A LOT.  Any tips, pointers, words of wisdom out there?  I would very much like to get started soon--I really love social work, and can't wait to get back out in the field.  I know the UK system is very different from what I'm used to in America, but I'm a nerd and find the whole cross-national comparison thing fascinating.