Social worker training budgets need protection, says GSCC

The General Social Care Council (GSCC) is urging local authorities not to cut training budgets for social workers in a drive to save money.

The social work regulating body’s director of strategy Lin Hinnigan will tell councils at a conference tomorrow that there is money available to pay for social worker training, but this needs to be protected.

In a submission to the Social Work Task Force, the GSCC has proposed that social workers should be given more stringent guidelines about what they need to cover in their 15 days of compulsory training each year. Social workers can currently choose how much of their training is made up of formal taught courses or independent learning, such as reading.

The GSCC also wants the task force to look into introducing requirements for people in particular roles, such as child protection, to undertake specialist qualifications.

Hinnigan said: “Training and learning must not end with an initial qualification – we need to strengthen the system so that all social workers are given opportunities for, and required to undertake, ongoing training and professional development befitting the complex and challenging work they do.”