Social & Community Services Workers
Social & Community Services Workers
Career Overview
Social and community service workers help people access support, programs, and community resources. They may work with children, families, seniors, people with disabilities, or people facing challenges such as housing, addiction, or mental health. The work combines communication, problem-solving, advocacy, and compassion, with digital records and online services becoming part of everyday practice.
Education
A college diploma in Social Service Work, Community Services, Human Services, or a related program can prepare you for this career. Some positions may require additional education, certification, or specialized training depending on the type of work.
Future Outlook
People will continue to need support with housing, family services, mental health, disability services, aging, and other community needs. Opportunities can grow for workers who develop specialized skills, build experience, and move into areas such as youth services, mental health, addictions, or community leadership. Current labour-market information shows continued demand for these services
Work Environment
Social and community service workers can work in community organizations, schools, shelters, group homes, healthcare settings, government agencies, and other support services. The work can involve meeting people in person or in the community, and some positions include evenings, weekends, or shift work.
Recommended High School Courses
- Biology
- Psychology
- Business
- Communication
- Sociology
- English
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures.
- Direct administrative or support services.
- Supervise employees.
- Monitor performance of organizational members or partners.
- Develop organizational policies or programs.
- Conduct opinion surveys or needs assessments.
- Maintain operational records.
- Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.
- Resolve customer complaints or problems.
- Establish interpersonal business relationships to facilitate work activities.
- Hire personnel.
- Interview employees, customers, or others to collect information.
- Recruit personnel.
- Analyze market research data.
- Evaluate training programs, instructors, or materials.
- Manage human resources activities.
- Advise others on legal or regulatory compliance matters.
- Analyze impact of legal or regulatory changes.
- Prepare operational budgets.
- Promote products, services, or programs.
- Represent the organization in external relations.
- Coordinate special events or programs.
Schools
Alaska Christian College-...
Letourneau University
Loyola University - Chica...
Syracuse University
University Of South Flori...
College Of The Rockies...
Conestoga College- Bra...
Conestoga College- Doo...
Durham College- Oshawa...
Fanshawe College- Lond...
Fleming College- Cobou...
Lakehead University- O...
Lakeland College- Verm...
Selkirk College- Castl...
Sprott Shaw Community...
Thompson Rivers Univer...
Tyndale University
Vancouver Island Univer...
Potential Scholarships
Aqha Region 1 Quarter Hor...
Aqha Arizona Quarter Hors...
Aqha Joan Cain Florida Qu...
Aqha Indiana Quarter Hors...
Aqha Dr. Gerald O'connor...
Aqhf Nebraska Quarter Hor...
- Creditcardgenius 2020 S...
- Haywood | Hunt & Associ...
Approx Salary Expectation
Low End:
$35,000.00 /yr
Avg/Med:
$44,000.00 /yr
High End:
$63,000.00 /yr
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
WorkBC's Career Trek, http://www.careertrekbc.ca/.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
WorkBC's Career Trek, http://www.careertrekbc.ca/.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.