How on earth do I pay to retrain as a social worker and do I actually need to?

[MrsRossPoldark]

sorry it's a bit long...

Having had a good heart to heart with some friends this morning, I am considering a qualification in Social Work and have found a course that could lead to a degree [though a certificate would be fine].

The 1st problem is how to pay for it, as I have some barriers to overcome. It's frustrating as I have played second fiddle to my family for so long and feel so ready to take on social work.

DH earns quite a good salary now but we are currently still in debt after a horrible few years. I also don't qualify for some grants as I have a degree already - albeit from 1985, totally out of date and in a completely different field.

I earn a small salary as a p-t admin in a social care setting and do a little basic support work too, hence my interest in taking on more, but as a charitable trust who have just been asked to cut our budget hugely next year, there will be no sponsorship available from my employer.

On top of this, my DS16 has just come home from day 1 at college to announce he does indeed need a laptop for college course so we need to finance that too.

I really want to do something else with my life but it always seems to be on hold for 'another year' and 'another year' until DH sorts himself out, kids grow up, etc.

And yet a close friend of mine, whose DH is a high earner and whose children are now both 'grown up' has recently qualified as a nurse and didn't have to pay anything over the previous 4 years of study as she was NHS sponsored. How does that work?

Any ideas where I could finance this from?

OR:

Maybe I don't need any paid-for qualifications as the kind of work my team do is less social work, more support work, if that makes sense? They do the same work as this vacancy I just looked up:

www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs/floating-support-worker-homeless-vulnerable-people-/356481?tsId=1

Some of this responsibility I already do as the team's administrator, as I am first point of contact for clients and am responsible for calling and making appointments, ensuring details are logged correctly and reported back, sending letters to them and ensuring paperwork is followed up, as well as welcoming people to our drop-in sessions and doing initial interviewing. I listen to case progress and attend team meetings when clients cases are discussed and would like to be a bit more involved.

Am I chasing a pipe-dream and should I just aim slightly differently and forget qualifying as a social worker and try to fulfil the reqt's of the advert e.g.?

I know that there will be a possible vacancy early 2016 as two of our team are retiring, so there's the possibility of a job for me ready-made if I can get some more hands-on experience where I am? Just not sure they'll pay me for it as part of the reason for being p-t is that I don't qualify for a pension so I cost even less!

So, if I go for a course how do I pay for it; is it realistic, given our personal situation and should I stay where I am to try to extend my role?

Is there anyone at work you could discuss this with, either informally or at your appraisal?

You can be a support worker without a social work degree. What kind of client group do you want to work with? The pay and hours aren't great but if you're working in the right kind of team with a supportive manager it's a fantastic job.

Could you do some voluntary work in the field to give you some experience?

Could you go straight to a post grad diploma or masters? You'd be eligible for a bursary possibly:

www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/825.aspx

Having typed all that up, I think I've probably answered my own question.

Since I have no ???? to pay for a degree I probably don't need, it would make sense to go to my line manager and discuss with her. I can accompany the SWs in my team on client visits and learn on the job (would be happy to do so without pay until I am considered experienced enough to visit on my own).

The only downside would be justifying an increase in my working hours as I would probably have to continue with admin duties so would be doing 16 hrs admin and maybe a day's worth of support work paid? That way I would still be deemed p-t so company wouldn't have to pay too much in benefits (pension?). My manager only works 24hpw so I wouldn't be able to do more than that I expect.

Still, I guess I wouldn't mind that as I can move on to more hours SW if the admin gets less?? Would make me more valuable as a flexible worker?

Titchy: I'll have to check the small print but I suspect a couple of stoppers from a first read. Will look again in the morning when I'm compus menttus!

Social work training bursaries may still exist but I think they have been greatly reduced. Do you have a degree? If your work is in a related field and your employer would agree to put you forward you could do a BA through the OU for about ??7000 or a masters will cost about ??10000 full time.

Have you already got a degree? If so Google Frontline which is on the job training or Step Up which is fast track SW training. You can get bursaries for a SW degree also.

Thanks ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight & Lagoonablue:

My degree is in what used to be called 'Computer Science', so I don't qualify for their loans/bursaries either!

Frontline isn't accepting any more applications for 2015/2016 and is focussed on childrens services, where I work in an adult setting.

StepUp is also childrens services and needs an honours degree [NOT social work] whereas mine is a Scottish Ordinary degree.

Just looking on gov.uk at tuition fee loans - you don't need to pay back until you earn >??21K, which as I'm aiming at p-t social work, isn't very likely to happen anytime soon?

There are one or two year masters courses for people with other degrees. You can sometimes get selected for bursaries by local authorities. Some of these have been cut but it might be worth contacting your local authority

Do you want to be a social worker or a support worker? If it is the latter that floats your boat there are plenty of social care roles, and with them tiers of management and leadership so career progression is possible without a degree.

Both my local uni's offer two year social work masters with attached burseries so it's definitely worth checking out what is on offer near you. I can't see how your first degree subject would make you ineligible as the point of the masters is to get a social work qualification if you have a different subject for the first degree.

I've worked in homelessness as well in an organisation that provides the kinds of services that are in he the job linked. I really enjoyed this kind of work. It is really rewarding but there is a bit of a ceiling on what you can earn, which is why I was looking at social work.

You've missed the deadline for Stepup for a 2016 start but if you can hang on in there for the next cohort? Would you not consider a switch to childrens if you have any experience with children......it's a generic qualification you end up with? Use the next year to get some voluntary work with children under your belt before applying. And it's worth a phonecall to ask whether your original degree would be accepted. Good luck.

Llareggub - I'd like to aim to qualify as a social worker ideally, but support work is fine for now at least. I work p-t and very local, so the hours/location suit me fine.

I am currently an administrator for a support service, but recently my job profile has been changing [partly to retain my services as an admin, as my manager doesn't want to lose me!] in favour of taking on more support work, which is what I do anyway, as I am first point of contact for most clients, I deal with and advise a little over the phone and keep an eye on the team's caseloads, often chasing things up on their behalf, so I am pretty much a 'basic' support worker, with admin duties, rather than 'just' the admin, which is what I was when I started the job. I don't need a degree to do support work, so will probably continue that way. I would like to get a qualification though as that opens up more options for the future?

If I keep tabs on exactly what i do in terms of direct support work v admin, it's now a 60/40 split in favour of support work.

Ever fancied a career in residential care? We struggle to recruit into home manager roles. You'd need experience in care, and registered managers have to meet certain requirements but it is hugely rewarding. Hard work though, and requires a commercial brain as well as a kind and caring nature.