Shanghai social workers to get official status

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, December 07, 2003

Shanghai social workers to get official status

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Thousands of social workers in Shanghai, who are engaged in non-profitable social assistance and service in the city, will become the first group of Chinese social workers to get their official status and qualification.

Shanghai, China's largest metropolis and economic center, held a qualification examination for social workers two weeks ago, with 5,586 people participating in the test, the first of its kind in the country.

Those who pass the test will obtain the titles of "social work master" or "assistant to social work master," to show the proficiency of their professional skills and capabilities.

The participants, aged between 18-65, are mostly teachers, medical workers, college students, police officers and office workers with at least two years of work experience.

China has witnessed enormous changes in the past 25 years of reforms and opening-up, and social problems of various kinds have sprung up and become an imminent issue. Thus, a large number of social workers with professional skills are badly needed.

Xu Lin, director of the municipal civil affairs bureau, said that Shanghai has issued local regulations on the management of the social workers, and accordingly, all the qualified social workers will be registered with the bureau.

Shanghai is also the first city in China to give an official definition for social workers. They are defined as professionals who provide humanitarian assistance in the fields of social management and welfare, mostly involving schools, hospitals, prisons, communities and families.

So far, there is no national law or regulation in the field, while the majority of social workers in the country are still waiting for official recognition of their professional status and qualification. In Shanghai, social workers are guided by the government and organized by non-government organizations.

The city government plans to improve the management of local social workers step by step, by regularizing their professional conduct, payment, training and expert appraisal, according to the official.

Zhang Chengxue, one of the examinees and a college graduate majoring in social work, told Xinhua that he had participated in the test, "in hopes of receiving public recognition that I am a qualified social worker."

The 27-year-old man now works with the Shanghai Children's Welfare House, responsible for family adoption of handicapped orphans.

If Zhang passes the test, he will be among the first group of social workers with an official certificate in China. Beginning next year, only qualified social workers will be allowed to do the job according to the local regulations.

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