ASYE For Social Workers Explained in a Nutshell

After you have completed your social worker’s degree, the next steps should already have been mapped out for you. The degree programs in the UK especially are extremely well designed and so you should already have a good idea of how to kickstart your career as a social worker. If you have not gotten to that point yet, and you have come across this news piece now, then don’t worry because your degree course will cover the steps you need to take.

Start by Registering as a Social Worker with the HCPC

One of the most important points to note is that just because you have finished your social work degree, you will not be classified as a registered social worker just yet. Therefore, if you are looking to get a job soon after you finish your studies, then be quick to register with the HCPC (Health and Care Professionals Council), which has been in operation replacing the original GSCC (General Social Care Council) in 2012. Once you are registered, any member of the public will be to look you up as a social worker.

Joining an ASYE Program

So, the ASYE is short for Assessed and Supported Year in Employment. You may also hear the term NQSW (Newly Qualified Social Worker) being used as well. However, the idea of the ASYE is to help support those that are an NQSW. Hence these terms can be mixed up or used interchangeably.

It does not matter whether you find work that is voluntary, in the private social care sector, or within the public sector, there should always be an ASYE program to help you. It helps give you goals to reach and the objectives you need to reach to meet each goal.

Now, this may seem daunting at first, but if you consider your first year at university studying to become a social worker this was probably also quite daunting in the beginning. However, once you saw the curriculum and the different courses start to interconnect, your confidence and ability to write essays as well as understand the texts being started no doubt began to improve.

The ASYE is exactly the same. It helps to develop your confidence as a social worker. It is not there to catch you out or put you down, it is there to assist you. Having the ASYE framework will help you evolve as a social worker and it will also help your employer because it saves them the time and effort needed to design their own framework to train you.

The ASYE is a 12 Month Program

Over 12 months you will be assessed in nine key areas. These areas have been set out using what is called the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF).

• Professionalism
• Knowledge
• Values and ethics
• Critical reflection and analysis
• Diversity
• Contexts and organisations
• Intervention and skills
• Professional leadership
• Rights, justice and economic well being

In order to evaluate and support you at each stage, you will have a designated assessor, and you will also have regular supervision which makes the learning process so much easier as you will be gaining feedback from other professionals as well as service users who are experienced within the field of social work.

Hopefully, the information here will give you more confidence. Just make sure you are registered with the HCPC when you finish your studies, and then you will be able to apply for social work positions. Once you are employed, you will not be alone as your first year under the ASYE program means you will be led into the field of social work and not just thrown into the deep end.