88 unemployed social workers petition govt for jobs

Eighty-eight past students of the School of Social Work, Osu, have petitioned the Head of the Local Government Service and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection for jobs.

The petitioners say after a decade of completing school, they have been rendered redundant despite the knowledge they have received from the institution.

According to them, in spite of the professional knowledge they have acquired, other professionals were rather being given the job.  

“We have realised that graduates of other institutions without the required knowledge and skills are rather being engaged to provide social welfare services.

“Social work is a demanding profession and requires the practitioner to be well versatile with a set of basic social work skills which will enable the worker to function well and resolve the problem of his/her client.

“Provision of social welfare services, therefore, requires professionally trained and competent social workers with a certain peculiar skills for efficient and effective social work that leads to client satisfaction,” the petition jointly signed by National president and General Secretary, Garglo Rita Esionam Stella and Klutse Norvi, said.

It continued: “Every institution has its own staffing norms and manpower needs. The Social Welfare Unit, among others, require staff in multi-skills which needs working with families and individuals in crisis, encountering psychosocial and interpersonal problems, knowledge skills in handling domestic violence, child abuse and sexual violence cases. We have been imbibed with these qualities to serve the needs of the society. 

“The role of trained social workers cannot be played by any mere person, except people who have been trained by the School of Social Work hence the establishment of the school to feed the Department of Social Welfare.”

The petition comes days after the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cynthia Mamle Morrison, in an answer to a Parliamentary question on June 11, 2020, said her outfit has data on over 4,800 street children in Accra.

In order to help government find solutions to some cankers, such as child trafficking, teenage pregnancy, child prostitution, streetism, amongst others, “we the unemployed graduates want to be employed to help nip these challenges in the bud,” the petition added. 

BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI