It’s often described as the “selfless profession”, but for many students like David Heath, social work has opened career doors like few other qualifications.
Since starting his Bachelor of Social Work at Charles Darwin University four years ago, the final year student has applied interpersonal, planning and organisational administration skills to a host of research, counselling and advisory roles.
David has counselled prisoners, researched and advised on social work patterns in the Northern Territory, studied information communication technologies for dementia patients, refined promotional campaigns for high school students and has just presented at a national conference in Sydney.
He finishes the degree this year and soon will take his wealth of experience to the United Kingdom.
David will continue his education at CDU with a research doctorate (project) which will examine the role of overseas social work registration models.
“Australian social work degrees are considered some of the best in the world, especially in the UK, and yet we don’t have a registration system. So I will take the opportunity to examine international models and assess their implications for Australia,” he said.
Unlike many other Australian graduates, David’s social work degree is fully recognised in the UK and doesn’t require any further training.
While social work is about helping others, David said the degree has also empowered him with confidence to tackle different career paths.
“It’s a recession-proof industry because our practical skills are often used to help people deal with challenging job environments and can help us take advantage of research, management and consulting jobs in all sorts of industries,” he said.
David follows a family tradition with both parents working as social workers. He said studying in the Northern Territory gave him opportunities unavailable to his interstate counterparts.
“My experience is that doors open here much easier than in other parts of Australia,” he said.
“Social work skills are in big demand across the social work landscape and I look forward to an international adventure where I can put these experiences to use.”
His advice to others considering study is to make the most of NT opportunities through social work.
“You can regularly change your practice fields because the skills and qualification apply to many different fields of practice which is vital in a constantly changing environment,” he said.
For information on CDU’s Bachelor of Social Work, phone 08 8946 7310 or visit www.cdu.edu.au.