My first blog post is about the differences between the job descriptions of a social worker and social counsellor especially in the field of child protective services in Finland. In this particular case I look at a social counsellor as someone who has completed the Bachelor’s degree in Social Services in a University of Applied Sciences.
First, I will shortly discuss the differences of the education and wages of these two professions. After that, I will go into the main topic more deeply: In the field of child protection how can these two professions exert influence? Who is able to decide, and on what things?
In Finland, the qualification requirement for the post of a social worker is a higher university degree including, or in addition to which the person has completed major subject studies or university studies in social work corresponding to the major subject. Whereas the right to practice work as a social welfare professional is to complete University of Applied Sciences level studies in Bachelor of Social Services.
On one of the Talentia’s (Union of Professional Social workers) article it has been noted that the salaries of social workers have risen faster than the overall wage development since the beginning of 2000. Improving the salary of early childhood education teachers and social counsellors in the field of child protection and social welfare for people with disabilities is much slower. Talentia states that in the future there is a lot of pressure on wage settlements, which aim to improve wage levels of social counsellor and early childhood education teachers.
According to the Finland’s Statistical office full-time social workers wage in 2019 was 3558€ per month on average. Full-time social advisors average wage in 2019 was 2832€ per month. There is a huge difference between the monthly pay, and even more on annual level.
I think that it is a huge issue that the wage development is so slow and the salaries are low. This should be noted on a bigger scale and this problem should be tackled.
The work in this field is demanding and the wage should be in accordance with it. As a student in the field, I have been scrolling through job advertisements and noticed that in most of the job advertisements, the wage is not even close to the amounts mentioned above. This is something that we, as students, should be aware of and take part in influencing, as this is a major problem in our future profession.
Social worker and social counsellor are both central actors in the field of child protective services. There are certain duties and actions in the Child Welfare Act that are required to be performed by social welfare professionals, some of which by a social worker. For example, social worker is the one who is responsible for making the assessment of service needs for children who need special support. Also, every child must have a social worker who is in charge of the child’s affairs.
Social works aims to support change and to ease difficult life situations together with individuals, families and communities. Also, the goal is to reinforce individuals and families’ own resources and inclusion.
Some of the social workers duties are: making sure of the client’s legal protection, making the assessment of service needs and decisions for children who need special support, enforcing change in the professional field, combining different benefits and services, controlling the whole process and the functioning of it and being responsible for the effectiveness and development of these processes.
The aim of social guidance is to promote the well-being and inclusion of an individual and families by reinforcing life management skills and the ability to perform. The duties of a social counsellor are making the assessment of service needs in cooperation with the social worker, family work and executing support work in non institutional social care and after care to reach the goals agreed in the client plan.
In the best possible scenario the social worker and the social counsellor can form a great team and combine both educational backgrounds and competences and exert influence. This would be an ideal situation. However, how does this happen in practice? When I had conversations with some students in the field, I got the picture that social counsellors were exerting influence in children’s everyday lives e.g. in child welfare institutions at grass-roots level, whereas social workers saw the children rarely and were mostly responsible for making decisions concerning the children and exerting influence in that way. When I researched this topic, there was a lack of clarity. Do the laws apply in practice and who actually influences and on what?
Suurin osa Showcasen blogeista on toteutettu osana Laurean opintojaksoja. Koko koulutustarjontaamme voi tutustua nettisivuillamme. Tarjoamme kymmenien tutkintoon johtavien koulutuksien lisäksi myös paljon täydennys- ja erikoistumiskoulutuksia sekä yksittäisiä opintojaksoja avoimen AMK:n kautta!
Great blog post that dives into the heart of so many issues regarding the work/responsibilities of our future professions. It is 100% true, that “sosionomi” degree doesn´t match with the demands and the work load regarding the salary, and this problem needs to be addressed. Also, one of the things that shines through in most of the job ads is the lack of mention of the salary, or it has only been advertised as KVTES or otherwise.
Thank you for your comment! I have noticed the same issue what you mentioned about the salary missing on the job ads. I think it definitely should be mentioned!