Where a social worker can go next
12 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a social worker already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.
Social workers are practice-based professionals who promote social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. They interact with individuals, families, groups, organisations and communities in order to provide various forms of therapy and counselling, group work, and community work. Social workers guide people to use services to claim benefits, access community resources, find jobs and training, obtain legal advice or deal with other local authority departments.
Also known as community worker, community counsellor, cultural mediator, social outreach worker, community services officer, community centre worker, child and youth worker, social services worker, community liaison worker, welfare worker, community development worker, community rehabilitation worker.
Professionals 121 skills on file 12 career moves 12 above 60% overlap Closest: clinical social worker, 80%
- 70% and above · short step
- 50 to 70% · real move
- Below 50% · substantial retraining
Table 1 · Within reach
- community development social worker 80% covered · difficulty 35.3
- social work assistant 80% covered · difficulty 25.8
- social work practice educator 80% covered · difficulty 34.9
- employment support worker 79% covered · difficulty 35.5
- substance misuse worker 79% covered · difficulty 37.4
- youth offending team worker 79% covered · difficulty 37.4
- gerontology social worker 80% covered · difficulty 35.6
- hospital social worker 78% covered · difficulty 38.8
- palliative care social worker 77% covered · difficulty 40.4
- mental health social worker 76% covered · difficulty 42.5
- criminal justice social worker 76% covered · difficulty 40.7
- clinical social worker 80% covered · difficulty 35.2
Table 2 · What the job itself asks for
A social worker needs 53 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.
- determine child welfare assisting and caring
- apply anti-oppressive practices assisting and caring
- apply case management communication, collaboration and creativity
- make legislation transparent for users of social services communication, collaboration and creativity
- negotiate with social service stakeholders communication, collaboration and creativity
- negotiate with social service users communication, collaboration and creativity
- provide support to social services users assisting and caring
- consider social impact of actions on service users management skills
- organise social work packages management skills
- develop professional identity in social work communication, collaboration and creativity
Table 3 · Jobs that lead here
The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a social worker does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.
- community social worker 73% covered · difficulty 46.5
- education welfare officer 73% covered · difficulty 47
- victim support officer 72% covered · difficulty 47.3
- consultant social worker 72% covered · difficulty 47.7
- hospital social worker 72% covered · difficulty 47.7
- rehabilitation support worker 72% covered · difficulty 47.7
- clinical social worker 71% covered · difficulty 48
- family social worker 71% covered · difficulty 48.2
- gerontology social worker 71% covered · difficulty 48.1
- migrant social worker 71% covered · difficulty 48.7
Look up another occupation
Social worker is filed under Professionals, ISCO major group 2. The full index lists all ten groups.
How these figures were compiled
Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a social worker’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.