Employers

Employers and the NQSW Supported Year

In response to policy and research findings, the Scottish Government commissioned the SSSC to provide recommendations on the design, implementation and delivery of a sustainable and accessible Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) Supported Year. This work is now complete.

The Scottish Government is committed to the national implementation of a supported first year in practice for newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) by October 2024.

Supporting NQSWs using the Definitions of employer support will become mandatory for employers and is part of the ambition to create a strategic framework from qualifying education through to advanced practice for all social workers and social work employers in Scotland. 

Employers and senior leaders will have a critical role to play in the successful implementation and delivery of the NQSW Supported Year and in achieving the aim of a consistent and robust appropriate experience for NQSWs joining the social work profession. 

Implementation activity

To date we have supported 24 local authority employers and 1 independent sector employer to develop ways of supporting their NQSWs. The early implementation work has been vital to creating, testing and revising a framework for supporting our newly qualified social workers. Local implementation areas have indicated that there are benefits to the approach for NQSWs, supervisors and teams where structured oversight and organisational support is given, which requires continuing dedicated oversight of the NQSW Supported Year. Learning from local areas and wider network partners’, will help shape national rollout. 

For the first time in Scotland, we have identified and defined the minimum supports required to be in place for NQSWs joining the workforce. This employer support has been consistently identified through evaluation and research.  

Successful implementation of the NQSW Supported Year will require joint ownership and responsibility from all partners. The Scottish Government is working with key partners through the newly established NQSW Implementation Partnership. The Partnership will work together to ensure the necessary supports and systems are in place, including guidance and materials, in order to have the best opportunity to achieve successful implementation.