qualifications

Now it's personal: personal advisers and the new public service workforce

Providing tailored one-to-one support to help people back into work has been central to the UK Government's reform of the welfare system. This report argues that a new examination is needed on the role of personal advisers. The report is based on focus groups with service users, in-depth interviews with advisers, surveys of personal advisers and employment providers and a review of the literature. Qualitative analysis is presented to show changes in the ratio of Job Centre Plus advisers to the number of interviews they conducted since the recession began.

New Degree, New Standards? : a project investigating the alignment of the Standards in Social Work Education (SiSWE) to the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF)

This project shines a spotlight on the social work qualifying degrees in Scotland with a particular emphasis on the relationship between the SiSWE and the SCQF. It seeks to understand how these two frameworks align to support improved standards of student attainment at a time when the profession has moved from a diploma to degree level qualification.

Adult skills and higher education: separation or union?

Paper assessing and discussing the position of adult skills training in England in the context of the creation of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the continuation of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It argues that giving responsibility for funding adult skills training to the DIUS risks adult skills being left behind by higher education.

Social networks and employability

Report investigating social networks as a factor in labour market proximity and likelihood of gaining sustained employment. Qualitative methods were used to explore these networks and glean new knowledge of processes underpinning people's participation in employment. The principal aim of the research was to provide employability agencies with a better understanding of how to support and advise clients in a holistic manner.

Key Capabilities in Child Care and Protection

The Key Capabilities (KC) in Child Care and Protection are designed to allow students within social work degree programmes to map their specific learning in this area whilst achieving the more generic Standards in Social Work Education (SiSWE). The KCs further allow social work students to evidence their learning in child care and protection by their progress being assessed at the mid and end points of the programme.