Social workers provide information, advice and support to those who are socially excluded or are experiencing crisis; they protect the welfare of vulnerable groups including children, young people, people with disabilities, elderly people and people who are mentally or physically ill, and they may specialise in specific areas of work.
Also calledFostering social workerCriminal justice social workerMedical social workerSenior practitionerLeaderSocial work practitionerand 29 more titles
Recruitment from abroad. 165 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, ranking it 86th of 313. Home Office
Who does it
ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
22%aged 55 or over
87%hold a degree
83%women
Age of social workers
Age profile of social workers
2.5%!
24%!
25%
26%
18%
4.1%!
16–2425–3435–4445–5455–6465+
!Small sample: treat with cautionShow as table
16–24
2.5% (small sample)
25–34
24% (small sample)
35–44
25%
45–54
26%
55–64
18%
65+
4.1% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Highest qualification held by social workers
Degree or equivalent87%
Higher education below degree!4.1%
A levels or equivalent!6.2%
GCSEs or equivalent!0.8%
Other qualifications!0.6%
!Small sample: treat with cautionShow as table
Degree or equivalent
87%
Higher education below degree
4.1% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent
6.2% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent
0.8% (small sample)
Other qualifications
0.6% (small sample)
Main employers: other social work activities without accommodation nec (60%), general public administration activities (16%), hospital activities (5.3%), other human health activities (5.1%).
How to get in
Hold a degree
87%
as their highest qualification
Registration
Social Work England
required to practise: Social Work England
Apprenticeships
1
from level 6, a degree apprenticeship
Apprenticeships take
3 years
typically
Routes in
You can get into this job through:
University
You could do a degree in social work approved by Social Work England.
You could also do a postgraduate degree in social work, if you have a degree in another subject. A postgraduate degree normally takes 2 years.
You might also be able to get a social work bursary.
Some universities offer a combined master's degree in nursing and social work (MNSW). You can check Social Work England to find information about approved courses.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course
Apprenticeship
You could apply to do a Social Worker Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.
This takes around 3 years to complete and is a mix of work placements and academic study.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship
Other ways in
Volunteering
You'll need experience of working with vulnerable groups or children to apply for most courses or jobs.
To get skills and experience, you could:
apply to be a social work assistant or family support worker
work in the community through a charity
find volunteering opportunities through the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and Do IT
Other routes
More about this route+
Graduate training scheme
You could do an intensive, work-based training programme to gain a master's degree or postgraduate diploma in social work. To apply you'll need at least a 2:2 (second class) degree.
Current programmes to support children and families include:
Approach Social Work
Step Up to Social Work
What you’ll need
pass enhanced background checks
You might need a driving license and your own transport.
Registration and professional bodies
Registration
you'll need to register with Social Work England
Professional and industry bodies
You could join the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) for professional development opportunities and to build up your network of contacts in the profession.
Further information
Get more detailed advice on the ways to qualify as a social worker. This can be useful to compare which route might be best for you.
You can also find out more about working in social work from:
British Association of Social Workers (BASW)
Think Care Careers
Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for social worker. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.
This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.
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