Of late, the practice of social work has evolved as a professional career requiring specialised training, extensive research work and commitment on the part of the persons working in this field. Social work encompasses taking corrective and developmental measures for social, cultural, economic, psychological and physical evils and disturbances.

Aptitudes that help

Since, it involves addressing the physical and psychological aspects of human beings (in many cases wildlife and plants also) the social worker requires a great degree of self- motivation and determination to make a successful and satisfying career in this field. They are also expected to have/develop good interpersonal skills, patience and maturity to manage people and situations.

Career avenues

In India, over 3 million people work at NGOs and various other social service organisations today. According to one’s specialisation, a social worker can be a psychologist, sociologist, trainer/educator, counsellor, researcher, medical practitioner, organiser/manager with inclination and expertise to work in various sectors of society.

A candidate who has specialised in the subjects of Social Work, Sociology or Psychology or is trained in Specialised Teaching or in subjects like Disaster Management, Rural Management/Development, usually find their way in to the social developmental sector. Government and Non-Government Organisations working for social welfare and development, old age homes, juvenile centres, corrective cells in prisons, rehabilitation homes/clinics for physically/mentally challenged,
hospitals, research organisations, educational and training institutions, corporate houses, industrial set ups, schools, placement agencies and consultancies are some of the prospective work areas for them.

All these organisations value a specialised degree in social work related subjects to bring a certain degree of professional approach to their activities. Yet, people from non-social science streams such as Sales, HRD, Finance, IT, Planning, Public Relation and Journalism can find wide scope to work in this sector at various levels.

Specialisations in Social Work

A student of Social Work can go for specialisation at the post graduation level (MSW) in Community Social Work, Labour and Social Welfare, Psychological or Correctional Social Work, Women Studies, Social Welfare Administration, Rural Development, Industrial Relations, Human Resource Development and Community Development.

Specialisations in Psychology

A psychologist systematically studies the thought processes of human beings and analyses its co-relation with their behavioural patterns. A professional in this field can specialise in several applied aspects of the subject, generally, in/after his/her post graduation level, such as Clinical Psychology, Industrial/Organisational.

Psychology, Counselling Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Human Factor Engineering Psychology etc.

Specialised Teaching/Training

In India, 33% of children suffer from mild to severe physical and mental disadvantages who need special education to learn to express themselves and lead their life as normally as possible. There are children who could have visual, hearing or speech impairment. Or they could have multiple sensory defects with physical deformity. There are children who are mentally challenged or suffer from complex behavioural patterns. Teachers or social workers working in places where such children are brought up are trained to give individualised attention to each child, for each has a unique way of learning things, perception and ability. Special teachers need possess a lot of patience, maturity and empathy to teach such disadvantageous children. There are many institutions recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) who provide training to teachers making them understand the special needs and requirements of such children.

Disaster Management

Disaster management is endeavouring to set right the life, property and environment devastated by natural or man-made disasters. It encompasses dissemination of information, creating awareness, planning and organising rehabilitation programmes for the disaster affected. Social workers working for various government and non-government organisations require commitment and determination for the task, and a sense of honour for the lives affected in disasters.

How to get through

Social work as a profession has become a highly specialised field. Students who want to opt for it as their profession require studying specialised courses and availing specific training for the purpose. Students can go for Master’s degree in Social Work, or various branches of Psychology and Sociology after BA/B.Sc in the subjects. One can go for Special Educator’s Training meant for helping Spastics, Physically and Psychologically challenged individuals, and for specialisation in the subject of Disaster Management after Post Graduation in a subject.

There are also several institutions and universities in India which provide Bachelor’s degree in Disaster Management.

Prospects

With the increased governmental and corporate focus on the areas of community and social development, rural development, preservation of environment and ethnic cultures, health and education, the scope of social work as a profession has increased manifold. A dramatic rise in the number of NGOs working in these sectors has added to the existing opportunities, as has the change of policy orientation in the corporate world towards Social Responsibility in an open market economy. Social and developmental research work, human resource development, industrial relations, career counselling and placements have emerged as some of the prospective professions, today.

Disaster management is one of the newer areas of specialised profession that is being pursued scientifically all over the world. Much research work, meticulous planning and creating a well trained group of workers are required to manage a disaster situation. India, particularly Orissa is regularly hit with natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, droughts, forest fires, fire in human habitats, etc. regularly, demanding more and more such outfits for disaster management.

Where to study

The Utkal University in Orissa provides a Master’s degree course in social work and psychology. There are two RCI accredited training institutes in the state providing Special Educator’s Training to teach/train physically and psychologically impaired individuals. The Regional College of Education, Bhubaneswar, offers PGD course programmes in Educational Counselling Psychology to graduates.

M Phil courses in counselling psychology are offered at Bangalore, Calicut, Mysore Universities. Diploma in Guidance and Counselling is given at Karnataka, Dharwad and Annamalai University. In India, TISS, Mumbai; XISServices, Ranchi; Delhi School of Social Work, Richmond Fellowship, Bangalore; Loyola College, Chennai are some of the reputed institutes offering excellent courses (short-term and full-time) in social work related studies.