To Train As A Social Worker At 40?

[FanOfWicked]

Is it silly of me to consider a complete career change and to want to go into a role that so many people seem to hate?
I want to do something more meaningful and actually help in life although I understand it is a very tough job to do.

The degree would consist of a three year apprenticeship with a mixture of studying and placements.

@TheSilkWorm I'm sure the OP can find out the entry requirements from the college she's looking at, but telling them that it's X days or X funding or X roles only isn't helpful when that varies significance across different authorities (also not sure the OP has even specified which country?)

But that’s the whole point, it IS only X roles that are eligible for the apprenticeship.

It’s fair to assume that if she’s talking about the SW apprenticeship then she’s in the UK.

If the OP is serious about becoming a social worker, she needs to be clear on the paths that she can take, and the apprenticeship isn’t one of them if she’s working in an unrelated field.

How can we give advice if the initial information the OP has is incorrect? How is it not helpful to make sure she knows that?

It doesn’t differ across LA’s because the courses, and therefore requirements, are set by Social Work England, NI Social Work Council, Social Care Wales or SSSC depending on which country in the UK the OP is in.

But that’s the whole point, it IS only X roles that are eligible for the apprenticeship.
It’s fair to assume that if she’s talking about the SW apprenticeship then she’s in the UK.

Apprenticeships are just being launched in Scotland - the entry route hasn’t been finalised yet, so I don’t think we can definitively say X roles are eligible this far.

Not unreasonable no. You can retrain into a new career at any age.

It might be good to sit down with a few social workers and ask them questions. Do you know any?

If not, you could ask the university questions

I'm in an allied role and retrained around the same role. In my office, it's us 'maturer' people that just seem to handle the role better as we have more work and life experience. You get used to being hated pretty quickly.

40 is the new 20!

I'm 40. And I've started lots of things this year.

People don't want OP to get her hopes up. Colleges and universities do not run apprenticeships; they are contracted to deliver the taught/academic elements of the employer led apprenticeship. Employers decide to run apprenticeships and then look for an academic partner to offer the degree. Lots of apprenticeships such as engineering recruit externally but it's the employer who recruits, not the academic partner; that's how apprenticeships work. I don't know of any social work apprenticeships that recruit externally.

I think on the balance of probability, it’s fair to say that someone working in an admin role that is completely unrelated to the field is unlikely to be eligible.

As many others have pointed out - the apprenticeships currently running are employer lead. They are for people who are currently working for a LA in a related role who wish to step up into social work. It’s highly likely that this new one will be the same.

There are already routes for existing local authority workers to qualify as a social worker while working in social care roles in Scotland through the OU and Robert Gordon Uni, if employers chose that route. I imagine local authorities may eventually recruit directly into the sw apprenticeship which would open up the profession - which is the reason for starting an apprenticeship offer in the first place.

Thanks all. A lot to think about and I agree it’s probably the wrong time for me to apply for this as I have no experience other than working as a mid day assistant about 9 years ago for 6 months and volunteering one afternoon a week in a classroom at the same school.

I did the intro the health and social care through open university 14 years ago. Maybe I could look at doing a course with them around working and keep an eye out for any full times roles within the council for admin or something working with children I’m able to apply for.

What have you got to lose? Why is it the wrong time? Just apply and see what happens. You're a long time dead!

I trained as a teacher aged 53. Have had 8 years in the career /leaving now and getting 35k lump sum and a 5k pay pension from those years well as the salary I’ve had -about 50k pa (private school) so not bad at all -you are massively younger so go for it!

*Maybe I could look at doing a course with them around working and keep an eye out for any full times roles within the council for admin or something working with children I’m able to apply for.

Have a look at any kind of support worker type role with children or adults. The social work degree is a generic qualification so you don’t necessarily need experience with children - it’s more working in a social care environment that matters. The OU have some good courses you can do that might also count towards a social work degree. You have lots of time to gain experience and some learning before trying to get on an apprenticeship.

That would be amazing, but I’m not sure how it would work in reality.

Numbers would have to be extremely limited, otherwise LA would be taking on groups of people with no experience into support roles and be expected to train them, assess them and have them complete the academic side in just two years. The apprenticeship works in that those undertaking it already have experience in the sector and can “hit the ground running”. Assignments, portfolios, placement supervision while working in the role 4 days a week is hard enough, without doing it with zero experience. We shall see though I guess!

OP why not look into doing the access to SW course alongside working? I did it via learndirect. I did the work in the evenings and over weekends which allowed me to continue to work full time. If you have GCSE maths and English that’s all you’d need to do to be eligible for the degree course.

The apprenticeship works in that those undertaking it already have experience in the sector and can “hit the ground running”.

From what I can gather the Scottish apprenticeship would mirror the 4 year degree rather than being a shortened route, that may change though as it’s early days in terms of planning. The existing part time work based routes are done over 2-4 years and your existing workplace counts for one of your placements. I’d like to see them widen access where possible.