Successful applicants Nellie Ho and Justin Ng. DON WONG

They want to be social workers
05:55 AM Oct 19, 2009
by Esther Ng

SHE was “going through a mid-life crisis” and was not happy with her job as a software engineer.

Mother-of-three Nellie Ho, 49, then tried applying for a job last year as a social worker, but the diploma-holder was told she needed a degree.

Now, she is in the first batch of trainees for the Accelerated Bachelor of Social Work under the Professional Conversion Programme.

This fully-funded course and another graduate diploma programme to train professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) to become social workers has drawn applications from engineers, bank officers – even a vice-president of a bank – and those from the manufacturing sector, as well as teachers and nurses.

Of the 230 who applied for the 30 places available, 28 were selected by SIM University (UniSIM) and the voluntary welfare organisations they will join.

The programme is a place-and-train partnership between UniSIM, the Workforce Development Agency and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), that will re-skill mid-career jobseekers as qualified social workers. Some 100 are needed annually over the next five years, according to NCSS.

Low pay and fatigue are oft-cited reasons why social workers leave the sector, but Mr Justin Ng, 34, co-owner of an art gallery and another successful applicant, told MediaCorp he was fully aware of what lies ahead.

Under NCSS guidelines, a fresh graduate can expect to be paid between $2,400 and $3,300 a month.

“I was organising art shows with a number of charities, such as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Yellow Ribbon Project – using art to make a difference. But I wanted to do more,” said Mr Ng. “I wanted formal training.”

Training began in July for the undergraduate programme and in August for the graduate diploma.

Besides 20 hours a week of work attachment, both Ms Ho and Mr Ng are busy combining classes three nights a week with 400 hours of supervised practical application of what they have learnt.

Ms Ho is attached to MINDSville@Napiri, a home and hostel for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, where she helps to screen applicants for its communal living programmes, while Mr Ng is an associate social worker at the Moral Family Service Centre (Bukit Panjang).

“We have more life experience over a younger graduate trainee, an asset – among other skills – that we bring to social work,” said Ms Ho. “I wanted to help the less fortunate and this was going to give me satisfaction. It’s more than just a job.”
URL http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC091019-0000014/They-want-to-be-social-workers

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