Natwray82

Hi All

New to the site and looking for advice please

I qualified as a children's social worker in July 2010 and my plan was to gain a years experience and venture to Oz on a skilled migrant visa however it turns out the rules change as of July 1st 2011 and you will need 3 years experience to do this.

Therefore I have two choices wait another two and half years or get out there on a working holiday visa in October this year - I will then have 14 months experience post qualifying and have completed my post qualifying consolidation module in social work.

I have a friend who lives out there so have accommodation and a job in a bar if necessary however I wish to pursue either a social work job or youth support and am wondering if I use my two years on this visa in this type of role would this then qualify me for a skilled migrant visa? another issue is that when I will apply for jobs I can only work for a period of 6 months with one employer which of course doesn't look brilliant, but then I can prove my commitment.

I really want to go this year - any help/advice will be much appreciated

Thanks

Natalie
xx

Shellyj

There is a risk that by going on a WHV you may not get social work type jobs while there and you end up doing bar work for your friend. You would then not meet the work experience requirement so could not apply independently.

Though you might get work in the field you want but you would have to make sure it is at the right level. Can NQSW register with AASW? Not looked for a while but would have thought you'd have needed x no of years past your NQ year?

Natwray82

You need three years experience PQ to register with AASW however it is not necessary to be registered with them to work as a social worker......I have seen youth support jobs which are on 6 month contracts which would be ideal.

Bit of a bummer that the rules change on 1st July and I will have my years experience on 19th. I can have my qualifications assessed for welfare work by AIWCW - I meet criteria for this, wonder if it would help when applying for jobs?

Phlanger

Not one little bit - but it won't matter.

I started the process of having my qualifications assessed by AIWCW and started phoning around employers around the same time. The bulk of them either hadn't heard of AIWCW or couldn't care less about them.

I'm not talking about small voluntary sector employers, I'm taliking about large metro councils and government departments. Seriously - save your money.

Unlike social work, there's no qualification bar for community work (at least in Victoria, but I suspect nationally) so validation of qualifications is a non issue.

Even social work positions in Victoria don't appear to ask for AASW validation though, and there does seem to be contract work available for periods of six months to a year. I don't imagine the WA situation would be much different.

I could be wrong about AASW (particularly since I'm talking about a different jurisdiction)- but if its anything like AICWC I wouldn't lose sleep over it. Best thing to do is speak to a couple of big employers - Centrelink will be one of the bigger employers of social workers - give their HR a call and ask.

Natwray82

Thanks for that will save me pennies then

Think I'm just going to get out there and take me chances, maybe apply for a few jobs before I leave. Feel it will be alot easier to be there in person and even visit agencys/government and see what my options are.....................if that fails I'll have to pursue another skill maybe? however helping people is what I love so will be sticking with that idea x

Phlanger

Good for you, stick with it.

McArthur and Tradewind are two agencies specialising in Community and Social Work (Melbourne based, but McArthurs at least are nationwide)

They've both got some temp stuff on seek.com at the moment - possibly worth a look.

minibelle

You could try to contact WA health, if you go on their web site there may be contacts for you to ring directly. I live in Qld and they recruit directly from the uk, not sure if they have the same system though.

minibelle

mperei02

I am a SOcial Worker based in Adelaide, why dont you do a 1 year Masters in SW from Flinders Uni and it wiuld be easer to find jobs then...you can have placement as on unit to gain local knowledge...

Natwray82

Is this uni in Adelaide? How much would it Cost? Which visa would I need?

Thanks in advance.

Jirrupin

Hi Natalie,

I lived in Perth for only a year about 5 years ago before returning to the UK. I'm a social worker who qualified in 1995. In my experience there were just not the social work opportunities that you would find in say Melbourne. I did not want to go back to youth work as I was an experienced social worker. There appeared to be an expectation that you would earn your stripes working in the bush before being considered for work in the metro area. It may be different now, but I doubt it. I did get an interview in an inland town about 5 hours drive east from Geraldton, (Geraldton, is itself a five hour drive from Perth) but it was such a lonesome drive I just couldn't see myself or my hubby making a life for ourselves in such an isolated position. I couldn't even get a job working in a supermarket!! In the end we came home, you are probably younger than I was then and if you already have some contacts you may find it easier, but I wanted to share my experience. My view is that you will have better opportunities in the more populated states, you could always establish yourself there and move back to Perth at a later date. Good luck Donna

Natwray82

Thanks for this it's great to here others' experience.

I am just doing my PQ Consolidation Course now and will have 14 months PQ experience when I arrive.

I looked at the above option of doing the final year Masters however not sure I can afford that right now.

There is lots of Youth Support jobs which i would be happy to do and as far as i'm aware there is a jobs pool for SW's on WA Government Site (I suspect these may be the rural locations you mention) however I check on a weekly basis and there is often other positions around Joondalup etc. I will send my CV before I leave to WA and other agencies as I am planning on visiting India and Thailand on route.

I will then try and find my feet and have a look about see what options are available within Perth if this fails after a few months I am going to look at sponsorship opportunities possibly Victoria or Queensland with the view to working until I am entitled to PR.

In the mean time looks like i'll be working in a bar but at least it's a job

Any other advice welcomed.

the troubadour

As already noted by a previous poster there is work to be found in the countryside for Social Workers,but conditions can be harsh and even tough going.
There are reasons other than distance that locals prefer not to work in such an enviroment.

Also there is a rather high turn over of workers overall,owing to a large part the working conditions prevailing.
Management can be an issue in part why this continues to be so,but also short term contracts and stress levels play a part.

Weebie

IN that 5 years you left Perths Population has increased by like a million.

the troubadour

Am aware of a number of folk in the social area whom have moved to principally Melbourne over the past few years,although Perth is growing in population,i would still be of the impression that far more choice presents itself over East.