Social care worker to consultant social worker
A social care worker already meets 71% of what the consultant social worker role asks for. The move turns on 21 required skills not yet in the profile.
48.8/ 100
1 How much of what a consultant social worker is expected to do is already part of a social care worker’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the consultant social worker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A consultant social worker role treats 51 of its required skills as things a social care worker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- adolescent psychological development
- advocate for social service users
- apply decision making within social work
- apply holistic approach within social services
What stands in the way is 21 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 53 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A consultant social worker role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a social care worker background worth leading with.
- already held support social service users at the end of life communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held support social service users to manage their financial affairs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held support social service users to live at home communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held support traumatised children assisting and caring
- already held plan social service process management skills
- already held adolescent psychological development social sciences, journalism and information
All 53 carried skills, including the 51 the consultant social worker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn apply case management required
- still to learn apply crisis intervention required
- still to learn cooperate at inter-professional level required
- still to learn develop professional identity in social work required
- still to learn empower social service users required
- still to learn make legislation transparent for users of social services required
- still to learn negotiate with social service users required
- still to learn address problems critically required
- still to learn develop professional network required
- still to learn negotiate with social service stakeholders required
- still to learn apply anti-oppressive practices required
- still to learn refer social service users required
- still to learn manage ethical issues within social services required
- still to learn provide support to social services users required
- still to learn client-centred counselling required
- still to learn counselling methods required
- still to learn social work theory required
- still to learn consider social impact of actions on service users required
- still to learn manage a social work unit required
- still to learn organise social work packages required
- still to learn have computer literacy required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a consultant social worker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply anti-oppressive practices practise this
- 02 apply case management practise this
- 03 apply crisis intervention practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 53 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held adolescent psychological development knowledge
- already held advocate for social service users skill
- already held apply decision making within social work skill
- already held apply holistic approach within social services skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held apply person-centred care skill
- already held apply problem solving in social service skill
- already held apply quality standards in social services skill
- already held apply socially just working principles skill
- already held assess social service users' situation skill
- already held assess the development of youth skill
- already held build helping relationship with social service users skill
- already held communicate professionally with colleagues in other fields skill
- already held communicate with social service users skill
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held conduct interview in social service skill
- already held contribute to protecting individuals from harm skill
- already held deliver social services in diverse cultural communities skill
- already held demonstrate leadership in social service cases skill
- already held follow health and safety precautions in social care practices skill
- already held involve service users and carers in care planning skill
- already held legal requirements in the social sector knowledge
- already held listen actively skill
- already held maintain records of work with service users skill
- already held manage social crisis skill
- already held manage stress in the work place skill
- already held meet standards of practice in social services skill
- already held plan social service process skill
- already held prepare youths for adulthood skill
- already held prevent social problems skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held promote service users' rights skill
- already held promote social change skill
- already held promote the safeguarding of young people skill
- already held protect vulnerable social service users skill
- already held provide social counselling skill
- already held relate empathetically skill
- already held report on social development skill
- already held review social service plan skill
- already held social justice knowledge
- already held social sciences knowledge
- already held support children's wellbeing skill
- already held support social service users at the end of life skill
- already held support social service users to manage their financial affairs skill
- already held support the positiveness of youths skill
- already held tolerate stress skill
- already held undertake continuous professional development in social work skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work within communities skill
- already held support social service users to live at home skill
- already held support traumatised children skill
0 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
51 held skills the consultant social worker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role address public health issues skill
- not needed by the target role advise on housing skill
- not needed by the target role apply a holistic approach in care skill
- not needed by the target role apply foreign languages in social services skill
- not needed by the target role assist children with special needs in education settings skill
- not needed by the target role assist families in crisis situations skill
- not needed by the target role assist individuals with disabilities in community activities skill
- not needed by the target role assist social service users in formulating complaints skill
- not needed by the target role assist social service users with physical disabilities skill
- not needed by the target role assist with personal administration issues skill
- not needed by the target role assist with self-medication skill
- not needed by the target role child protection knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate by use of interpretation services skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with youth skill
- not needed by the target role comply with legislation in social services skill
- not needed by the target role conduct foster care visits skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to the safeguarding of children skill
- not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
- not needed by the target role determine child welfare skill
- not needed by the target role disability care knowledge
- not needed by the target role disability types knowledge
- not needed by the target role distribute meals to patients skill
- not needed by the target role encourage social service users to preserve their independence in their daily activities skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate older adults' ability to take care of themselves skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate prospective foster parents skill
- not needed by the target role family law knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle children's problems skill
- not needed by the target role implement care programmes for children skill
- not needed by the target role maintain privacy of service users skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relations with children's parents skill
- not needed by the target role maintain the trust of service users skill
- not needed by the target role monitor children's physical development skill
- not needed by the target role monitor service users' health skill
- not needed by the target role older adults' needs knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform cleaning duties skill
- not needed by the target role provide first aid skill
- not needed by the target role provide in-home support for disabled individuals skill
- not needed by the target role provide social guidance over the phone skill
- not needed by the target role provide testimony in court hearings skill
- not needed by the target role refer service users to community resources skill
11 further entries not listed here
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn client-centred counselling required
- still to learn counselling methods required
- still to learn social work theory required
Common questions about this move
Can a social care worker become a consultant social worker?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A social care worker already covers 71% of what a consultant social worker is expected to do: 53 skills carry over, 51 of which the consultant social worker role treats as required.
What skills does a social care worker need to become a consultant social worker?
21 required skills are missing, plus 0 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is apply anti-oppressive practices.
How hard is the move from social care worker to consultant social worker?
Its learning distance is 48.8 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.