Occupation
Social worker
Social workers assess what is going wrong in someone's life (safety, housing, health, income, family conflict), and build a plan and a set of services around it. Most of the job is interviewing, judgement made on incomplete information, and detailed written records that other agencies and sometimes courts rely on. Progress with a client is usually gradual and partial rather than tidy.
Also known as: Registered social worker · Clinical social worker · Social work practitioner · Social services worker
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Occupation content
Part of Community, social and public services
A visual day in the work
What the work involves
Interview clients and families to assess risk, needs, strengths, and existing supports
Build service plans and refer people to housing, health, income, or counselling programs
Write assessments, case notes, and reports that supervisors, agencies, or courts rely on
Coordinate with schools, clinicians, police, and community organisations on shared cases
Review open files as circumstances change, then escalate, transfer, or close them
Bring difficult judgement calls to case conferences and clinical supervision
Entry-route stepper
How people commonly enter
A bachelor's degree in social work is the most common entry qualification, with a master's degree usual for clinical, therapeutic, or specialist practice
Registration or licensure with the social work regulator, where the title is protected, normally following a period of supervised practice
Starting in a social services assistant or support worker role on a college diploma, then completing a social work degree while employed
Typical training: Bachelor's degree
Licensing: Regulated in most jurisdictions. Confirm the current requirement with the regulator in your province, state, or country.
Work-context map
Typical work context
- Team based
- Public facing
- High responsibility
- Varied work
- Client sites
Team based · Public facing · High responsibility · Varied work · Client sites
Related interests
- Social (helping)
- Investigative (analytical)
- Enterprising (leading)
Social (helping) · Investigative (analytical) · Enterprising (leading)
Related aptitude preparation
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Skills to practise
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Community, social and public services.
Official sources
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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Community, social and public services in Canada, not a figure for Social worker. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Community, social and public services family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Community, social and public services: education pathways
Some roles in Community, social and public services may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Community, social and public services: licensing
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