Legislative Council Panel on Welfare Services
Meeting on 14 September 1998

Employment Situation of Social Work Graduates

Purpose

This paper informs Members of the latest employment situation of social work students who graduated in 1997 and the measures adopted to enhance their employment opportunities. The latest Report of the Social Work Manpower Planning Exercise is also attached for Members' information at Annex I.

Background

2. We last reported to the Welfare Panel of the Provisional Legislative Council, on 28 February 1998, the employment situation of 1997 social work graduates as well as the mechanism by which the Social Work Manpower Planning System (SWMPS) is conducted. With the assistance of the relevant tertiary institutions, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) conducted two surveys (in December 1997 and April 1998) on the employment situation of the 1997 social work graduates.

Employment Situation of 1997 Social Work Graduates

3. Every year, the Government together with the tertiary institutions and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, examines the employment situation of new social work graduates, as part of the manpower projection exercise. In 1997, there were 367 full time social work degree graduates and 543 diploma graduates.

4. According to the survey conducted in December 1997, which saw a response rate of 65%, 83% of full-time degree graduates and 80 % of full-time diploma graduates who responded to the survey had secured employment - 43 % of respondents entered the social work field.

5. In the April 1998 survey, the response rate for both full-time degree and diploma graduates was 52%. Of those who responded, 95% of the degree graduates and 88% of diploma graduates had secured employment. 55% of degree graduates and 57% of diploma graduates entered the social work field.

6. Seen from a wider perspective, the employment situation for social work graduates compares favourably with graduates of other disciplines. According to statistics from surveys conducted by individual University Grants Committee-funded institutions on the overall employment situation of 1997 graduates, 83% of full-time degree graduates have secured employment. The employment rate for full-time sub-degree graduates was 76%.

The Social Welfare Manpower Planning System (SWMPS) Report No. 10

7. At the PLC Welfare Panel meeting held in February 1998, we undertook to provide the SWMPS Report No. 10 to the Panel once it became available.

8. The Social Welfare Manpower Planning System (SWMPS) was developed in 1987 to maintain up-to-date data on the supply of, and demand for, social work personnel. The system is maintained by the SWD, on the advice of the Joint Committee on SWMPS which comprises representatives from SWD and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. According to Report No. 10, there should be a supply of 418 degree graduates and 590 diploma graduates in 1998. The projections regarding the supply of, and demand for , social work degree and diploma holders for the period up to 2001/02 are at Annexes II and III respectively.

9. The projections indicate there will be a continued surplus of degree and diploma graduates in the coming few years. The main reason for the surplus is the recent decrease in the anticipated wastage rate of both social work officer (SWO) and social work assistant (SWA) grade workers. The wastage rate for SWO has dropped to 3.5% (from 4.6% in Report No. 9) and for SWA to 8.5% (from 11.7% in Report No. 9). We expect this downward trend to continue.

10. In 1998/99, 133 SWO grade posts and 185 SWA new posts will be created in SWD and the welfare sector. On the basis of the information available, it appears that a number of the 1998 graduates will not be able to readily secure employment in the social work field in the short-term. There are, however, many factors which affect employment, for instance when the students want to start work, whether they wish to remain in the social work field, or continue with their studies and how the prevailing economic climate affects the overall employment situation in Hong Kong. Given the short time since the 1998 batch of social work graduates left university, it is too early to know their employment situation at this stage.

Regular review of the manpower projection method

11. To assess manpower requirements in the social work field, the Joint Committee on Social Work Manpower Planning System annually updates the manpower projection for social workers and publishes an annual Social Work Manpower Planning Report. The projections in the Report form the basis of our recommendations to the University Grants Committee on the student intake for future social work programmes.

12. The manpower projections are made on the basis of past trends in demand, wastage rates of serving workers, voluntary non-entrants and supply from overseas returnees. These factors vary from time to time, and are sensitive to circumstantial factors. To ensure a better match between supply and demand, the Joint Committee will continue to review the projection methodology and examine ways of improving its accuracy.

Measures to enhance employment opportunities for
Social Work Graduates

13. We are aware of the need to enhance the employment opportunities for social work graduates and, together with the NGO sector, have adopted a series of measures to achieve this aim.

To expedite the creation of new posts

14. Earlier this year, both SWD and NGOs arranged for the social work posts earmarked for creation in 1998/99 to be filled as early as practicable. Of the 318 new social work posts to be created in this financial year, 89 social work posts ( 56 Social Work Officer posts and 33 Social Work Assistant posts) have been created in the first quarter. Another 40 posts were created in July and August 1998. This action helps to ensure that employment opportunities are made available as soon as possible.

To streamline recruitment procedures

15. We will continue streamlining recruitment procedures so as to reduce the lead time required to fill a social work post. SWD now regularly updates its waiting list so as to enable those interested in social work employment opportunities in the Government to be contacted as soon as vacancies arise.

16. To enable the NGO sector to recruit the necessary social work personnel, NGOs are given early notification of new services or projects allocated to them. Following the establishment of the Social Workers Registration Board, SWD has removed the need for NGOs to seek its prior approval in vetting the qualifications of applicants for social work posts. In addition, SWD has recently published a manual on staff appointment matters for use by the subvented sector. This is a comprehensive reference tool for NGOs to assist with their vetting of candidates' qualifications in the recruitment process.

To encourage agencies to employ new graduates

17. As the employment difficulties faced by new social work graduates tend to be more acute when compared to those with relevant working experience, SWD actively encourages NGOs to accord priority to the employment of fresh graduates.

To encourage graduates to undertake further studies

18. The Administration has adopted measures to promote further education as a means to enhance the competitiveness of our graduates and to offer new opportunities to those who want to upgrade themselves through continuing and professional education. To meet the increasing demand from qualified graduates for further education, UGC-funded institutions have been invited to over-enrol their taught postgraduate courses in the 1998-99 academic year. 1,000 places have been made available under this scheme. This will cater for the needs of well-qualified graduates who will benefit from further studies before entering the job market.

19. The Non-Means Tested Loan Scheme, currently confined to full-time students of UGC-funded institutions, VTC Technical Colleges and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), will be extended to cover full-time students of the Hong Kong Shue Yan College which also offers social work degree and diploma programmes. All part-time students attending publicly-funded programmes offered by UGC-funded institutions will also be covered under this scheme starting from the 1998/99 academic year.

Career counselling services for prospective graduates

20. To prepare prospective graduates for their job search, the Student Affairs Office of various tertiary institutions offers a wide range of counselling services. The seven UGC-funded institutions have set up a joint-institution career databank which provides the most comprehensive and updated employment information. Individual offices also organise career talks, advice on interview techniques as well as information on the job market and prospective employers. These services will be of value to students in their search for employment.

To continue monitoring the employment situation of social work graduates

21. To enable the Government to better assess the employment opportunities for social work graduates, SWD will continue to enlist the assistance of the relevant tertiary institutions in conducting surveys on the 1998 graduates' employment situation.

22. We remain committed to promoting welfare development and exploring ways to enhance the employment opportunities for social work graduates. It is however worth noting that social work students should endeavour to stay competitive in the market and be prepared to face similar challenges in their search for employment as with graduates from other disciplines.


Health & Welfare Bureau
September 1998


ANNEX II

Projections in respect of social work degree graduates




End Financial Year





97/98

98/99

99/00

00/01

01/02








(Year of Graduation)


(1997)

(1998)

(1999)

(2000)

(2001)










New Supply of Degree Graduates


411

418

403

386

427

















New Demand for ASWO1and above plus SWP2 in TIs3


353

285

381

405

432

















* Shortfall(-)/Surplus of Supply at end of individual years (supply less demand)


58

133

22

-19

-5








Note :

1 Assistant Social Work Officer

2 Social Work Personnel

3 Tertiary institutions' lecturers, fieldwork instructors etc.

* The cumulative number of degree graduates who have not entered the social work field is not computed, as it is not reasonable to assume that all graduates who cannot find a social work post will always remain in this field. However, we note from available records that a fair number of graduates in the past two years will continue to seek a job in the social work field.



ANNEX III

Projections in respect of social work diploma graduates




End Financial Year





97/98

98/99

99/00

00/01

01/02








(Year of Graduation)


(1997)

(1998)

(1999)

(2000)

(2001)










New Supply of Diploma Graduates


582

590

604

524

531

















New Demand for SWA1 and above


485

446

453

478

505

















* Shortfall(-)/Surplus of Supply at end of individual years (supply less demand)


97

144

151

46

26








Note :

1 Social Work Assistant




* The cumulative number of diploma graduates who have not entered the social work field is not computed, as it is not reasonable to assume that all graduates who cannot find a social work post will always remain in this field. However, we note from available records that a fair number of graduates in the past two years will continue to seek a job in the social work field.