Job Future Plans of Social Work Students – Discussion on the Direction for Improving Social work program

Abstract

The profession of Social Work has developed substantially over recent decades, contributing to the social welfare development of the country. However, summary reports also indicate that the human resources in Social Work still need to be enhanced in both quantity and quality. The current human resources in Social Work includes existing staff and new staff (new graduates/students) recruited to work at the facility. While the capacity of the existing staff depends on experience and short-term training courses, the capacity of the new staff/Students depends largely on the social work program at the training schools. A good and effective social work program depends on many factors, in which a social work program that closely follows the needs and job future plan of students is particularly important. Therefore, understanding the future plans of social work students after graduation is crucial for guiding the social work programs. Using in-depth interview method with 05 students and 03 leaders of social work recruitment agencies, and questionnaire method with the sample size consisted of 152 students selected from a list of 200 third and fourth-year social work students after graduation, this paper focuses on analyzing aspects such as: Plans for further education, plans for supplementary knowledge, job plans, and workplace preferences. The results show that many students do not intend to pursue further studies in the near future, plan to learn additional foreign languages, seek employment in government agencies, and work in their trained specialization. These findings help to guide improvements in social work programs and enhance teaching methods and content accordingly.