BASW says cap on non-EU workers will harm social work

Giving evidence at the Home Affairs Select Committee yesterday, BASW chief executive Hilton Dawson called on the government to treat social work as a "shortage occupation".

He said while BASW understands the case for a reduction in net migration, he argued for allowing a range of social workers from non-EU countries to work in the UK because of huge staff shortages, high turnover and because "internationally educated social workers have raised the expectations of employers as to the appropriate education and skills needed from UK-educated social workers".

"The UK has to welcome the skills and knowledge brought to our shores by non-EU trained and skilled social workers," Dawson added. "We live in a diverse country and these professionals are vitally important to social inclusion and social cohesion. Social work is an international profession, it is the special ingredient in a successful society and it is as critical that social workers from the UK gain opportunities to practice and learn abroad, just as it is for social workers both within and form outside the EU to come here."

BASW is recommending that international social workers have a supported first year in employment.