Ah -- my position is Cornwall. Not exactly the doom and gloom you describe. My second option is North Yorkshire. I've got a couple offers, thanks!

I don't think she posts now, but search out previous posts from BE member "dingbat" - who always had lots of good info about this role in the vancouver area.

yes, dingbat was a great poster for sw info!

Hi there,
I am a social worker in London and my partner and I are considering moving to B.C. Its great to hear from other SWer's experiences so thanks in advance for your advice. I've just recently started doing some research on moving to Canada and I don't know where to start!!

I have done the self assessment on the CIC website and scored enough points, I certainly don't have a job offer, but I have 5 years experience working in social work. But without a job offer I understand I need to show proof of funds (which I don't have right now) but I will have upon LANDING...but thats ok right???!!!!

so the first step would be to submit the application for permanent residence and hope to be accepted....and from what I have read in this forum the process can take any where from one to two years???? I wonder how "in demand" social workers will be by then...

who knows, but we are going out for two weeks in June and then moving for good next spring, Im also a social worker and plan to speak to people while Im out there, I will be more than happy to share anyhthing that I learn . I know that I have to register with the BCSW. Like I said I will post when I have more info but if anyone else knows more Im sure we would all benefit.

Hi
I am also interested in any further information. I am also a Social Worker, did my training in Canada but all of my work experience is in London. We are planning our move to Ontario in late spring of next year as well. I have been looking around to try to get an idea of the job market but there are not a great many of postings at the moment. Anyone found any good websites? I have mainly worked with children/ families.

One thing to keep in mind is that often Social Work jobs require you to have a license and often a car. I don't have mine but am going to work on it over the next year here so I can get in the UK and transfer it.

Maybe we can keep up a social work thread to share info?

Dear Social Workers heading to Canada,

I am a Candian social worker, I have my diploma, my four-year degree and am finishing my Masters.

Please don't rely on Immigration Canada advice on how many jobs there are for skilled workers. This country is full of people who have qualified in different countries (PhDs galore) who cannot find work.

I am not trying to be a barrier to aspiring Canadian social workers, but I would warn you that our standards of practice require a 4 year degree in social work to hold the registered title "social worker". The UK education is not the same, unless you have a UK QSW degree.

A social work diploma is not going to cut it, folks. Sorry. Been there, have the diploma and the work prospects here are not the same.

For most of Ontario and British Columbia, a Masters degree is becoming the entry level requirement.

Just a friendly word of advice!

Hey London Lisa,

If you qualified in Canada and worked in London in child protection, you can pick from any of the OACAS jobs. I recommend you look up 'children's aid society of ontario' . They have a good job board. The entry requirements are usually a BSW or MSW + experience.

Good luck!

Here's the job board:
http://www.oacas.org/careers/

Thanks for that, have been looking at CAS individual sites, but will have a look at this one. I have a BSW as well as an MA (in Applied Family Therapy). From your experience would that be an acceptable MA? I am not keen to do an MSW but will do it if necessary in the future.

Thanks again for the tips.

Hey Lisa,

Oh yes -- do look at the site I posted -- it has all the CAS jobs in one place.

re: MA: that's a really tricky question. On one hand, you would probably qualify as 'equivalent' to MSW. The combination of BSW + experience + MA would equal an MSW. The BSW allows you to register as a social worker (protected title) in any province and your MA will give you equivalency in pay to an MSW plus will probably allow you to practice as a Marriage and Family counsellor here (although sometimes in order to get reimbursed from private insurance, the practitioner needs to be PhD (Psych) or MSW).

I think you could take your pick of any child protection agencies you want.

I hate to sound negative about the diploma in social work, or non-social work degrees. Canada (and Australia) seem quite stringent about their professional qualifications -- a lot of it has to do with protecting their 'own' identity and profession, rather than helping people in need.

How was working as a swer in the UK sector?

Lilibet

Fantastic, will start browsing those boards.

Working in the UK has been great for me in lots of ways. Although I trained in Canada I have been here for almost 10 years and have done the vast majority of my work here. To be honest I have been given lots of opportunities here and have worked my way from basic grade Social Worker to Senior and am now working as a practice manager of a small team. They also funded me to do my MA. I have done some practice teaching while I have been here as well.

I work in inner London and it is a difficult area with a huge mix of people, fairly massive levels of crime and poverty as well as issues with gangs / sexual exploitation. I work with a small team that works with teenagers who are at risk of coming into care and we do short term therepeutic interventions with the families. I could go on and on but I guess I both love my job and find it incredibly frustrating at times. There are huge changes happening and I think that it is very likely that my team will suffer in the current round of cuts. Social Work at the moment is certainly under a different sort of pressure than I have experienced. Also it can be very disheartening in terms of the media coverage of Social Workers which remains fairly negative.

We are planning on moving to Canada for lots of reasons. I am Canadian and am now ready to come home and overall we feel that it is a better life for our little girl. I will be quite sad to leave my job but am hopeful that given my experience I should be ok.

It is my understanding that the new Social Work training in the UK is now all degree level so the issue re the diploma should not be an issue for newly qualified SW'ers.

Thanks for the advice and sorry for the long post.

Hey Lisa,

So interesting to hear about your experiences in the UK as a SWer.

As I mentioned, I don't foresee you having any problems at all finding work as an MSW-level SWer.

Toronto and Ottawa are quite competitive. I am doing my MSW in Ottawa and there are not a lot of opportunities for unilingual people. I have a friend from Toronto who is doing her MSW and she tells me that MSWs there are having a hard time finding work. However, a lot of social workers don't want to 'do' child protection and it looks like agencies (aside from Ottawa) are hiring in these roles.

If you have the flexibility, a small Ontario city (Kingston, London, Hamilton, Kitchener) would offer the greatest options. Also -- look for cities that don't have universities offering the MSW -- those cities that do offer the degree are often spoiled for choice.

Good luck! I hope you'll keep posting as I have enjoyed reading about your career and future plans back here in Canada.

That Canadian BSW will serve you well in combination with your MA. Which Canadian university did you attend for undergrad?

Thanks Lilibet for your posts, they are really encouraging.

That is what I thought re the child protection. As with everywhere it is not the number one choice for a lot of people. I am fairly flexible and would not be adverse to working for CAS so it should be fine.

I trained at McMaster in Hamilton and did my family therapy MA at the Tavistock in London. We are actually planning on coming back to the Hamilton area (Dundas or Burlington) as that is where my family is from and we quite like it. It is not the prettiest city but I am under no illusions. It will be a big change from London but that is what we are looking for. In some ways I am tempted by Toronto but we figure we'd be in the same situation we are in London in terms of cost of living so are opting.

Now off to start that visa paperwork--- uuggghhh.

What have your experiences been like in terms of Social Work in Canada compared to the UK?

My first post on this forum and I just wanted to say how refreshing it is to find this is an expat forum where people can be open and honest without having their post deleted if they say anything negative.

Another DipSW social worker here, trained in Scotland, 14yrs experience up to project manager level. I chose not to do my degree because I was also a foster mum for 25yrs to 'alternative to custody' teenage boys and was happy to exit Uni at DipSW level

I emigrated to the land of the dead, now known as NZ, two years ago - it has been the biggest and most expensive mistake in my life But....rather than return immediately to the UK, hubby and I thought it might be interesting to work our way home. Not really keen on Australia, so that leaves Canada (it was my first choice but hubby wanted an all year round temperate climate - hence NZ).

Thanks to the great information here I already know I cannot work as a social worker in Canada. (although I did read somewhere there are two regions in Canada where the DipSW is accepted).

My question is.... how easy would it be for me to find work as a social work assistant, or in residential care? Are there many opportunities? How bad is the tall poppy syndrome over there?

Hubby will be the main applicant on the work permit as he stands a good chance of finding work as an occupational therapist due to his extensive skills and experience. I will be happy just finding some interesting and rewarding work.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.