What do social work graduates do after finishing college in Vietnam?

What do social work graduates do after finishing college in Vietnam?

Based on subsection 5, Section A, Part 10 of the Regulations on the Minimum Required Knowledge and Competencies that Learners Must Achieve After Graduating from Intermediate and College Levels for Fields in Health and Social Services (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations), issued together with Circular 54/2018/TT-BLDTBXH, social work college students can work in the following job positions after graduating:

- School social work;

- Elderly social work;

- Child and family social work;

- Community development;

- Hospital social work;

- Facility social work;

- Disability social work;

- Addiction social work.

What do social work graduates do after finishing college in Vietnam?​ (Image from Internet)

What is the description of the college-level social work program in Vietnam?

According to subsection 1, Section A, Part 10 of the Regulations, issued together with Circular 54/2018/TT-BLDTBXH, the college-level social work program is described as follows:

Social work at the college level is a field that assists individuals who require psychological and social support, meeting level 5 of the Vietnamese National Qualifications Framework.

By applying professional practice methods, the social work profession helps individuals, families, groups, and communities enhance their capacity, restore or strengthen their social functions, and provides opportunities for them to access resources, policies, and social services. Thus, social work contributes to building an advanced social welfare system, limiting the emergence of social issues, improving the quality of life for people, and aiming towards a healthy, fair, and happy society.

The beneficiaries of social work assistance are diverse, including children, women, the elderly, the poor, the disabled, people with mental health issues, substance abusers, individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, victims of domestic violence, natural disaster victims, human trafficking victims, etc.

Social work professionals often work at centers/organizations that provide social welfare and psychological counseling services, hospitals, schools, drug addiction counseling and treatment centers/organizations, community development project management or implementation centers/organizations, and domestic and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in poverty alleviation, community development, and social development.

Minimum knowledge volume: 1,800 hours (equivalent to 76 credits).

What skills must social work college students in Vietnam have?

According to subsection 3, Section A, Part 10 of the Regulations, issued together with Circular 54/2018/TT-BLDTBXH, social work college students must meet the following skill requirements:

- Use individual and group social work skills to provide assistance services to individuals, families, and groups to help them enhance their capacity to solve problems and meet their needs;

- Connect resources to contribute to improving and solving social issues;

- Apply social work knowledge and skills to treat and restore social functions for disadvantaged groups. Connect and utilize resources to develop people and manage society harmoniously at the individual and organizational levels to prevent social evils and social deviance;

- Apply social policies and advocate for clients to enjoy legitimate benefits and provide feedback to adjust policies;

- Apply the following skills: listening, observing, interviewing, home visiting, counseling, report writing, group communication, conflict resolution, crisis handling, and negotiation;

- Perform social research skills, planning, policy evaluation, help models, and management of social organizations;

- Evaluate and identify issues in the community, mobilize resources to develop the community, participate in managing and executing community development projects;

- Analyze, evaluate, and apply different models to serve career development;

- Use basic information technology according to regulations; exploit, process, and apply information technology in professional work;

- Use basic foreign languages at level 2/6 in the Vietnamese Foreign Language Competency Framework and apply foreign languages in professional work.

What are the knowledge requirements for social work college students after graduation in Vietnam?

Based on subsection 2, Section A, Part 10 of the Regulations, issued together with Circular 54/2018/TT-BLDTBXH, social work college students must meet the following knowledge requirements:

- Present basic knowledge about the formation and development process of social work in the world and Vietnam; social work clients, functions, and tasks; the relationship between social work and other disciplines; crisis handling; models in social work;

- Describe the history of formation and classical theories in social work: cognitive-behavioral theory, ecological theory, psychoanalytic theory, family theory, life-span development theory, need theory, system theory;

- Analyze and distinguish basic levels of social intervention: individual, group, community. Connect methods and skills in counseling to flexibly apply to individual social work practice, group social work, and community development;

- Describe different approach models to help clients with life issues; research and policy-making knowledge;

- Summarize knowledge of management and operation of assistance activities and services for individuals, families, and groups;

- Present basic knowledge about politics, culture, society, law, national defense, security, and physical education according to regulations.