Role of social work in human resource development
Priscilla WELIKALA
It was very interesting to read the informative article written by
Social Services and Social Welfare Ministry Secretary and Chairperson,
Council of the National Institute of Social Development V.
Jegarasasingam on the role of NISD-A Centre of Excellence, which
appeared in the Daily News of October 31, 2009. As stated wide strides
have been taken in the field of social work education, training and
social policy research and publications. What is very important at this
point is to create a greater awareness of the progress and the impact
these programs have had in enhancing the competencies of people through
social work education and training for, this is very much needed in
present day Sri Lanka. According to the present policies of the
Government, based on the Mahinda Chinthanaya, the main emphasis is on
developing or strengthening the capacities of people and this is one of
the main aims of the social work profession.
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Towards a productive environment. File photo |
After winning the war the country is facing very daring situations
like clearing the land of bombs implanted by the terrorists, building
houses, resettling the people, meeting their needs and helping them to
live a peaceful life which they have been denied for a long time. As
they start living as families it is obvious that they will face various
other problems that are akin to various problems that are associated
with daily living. As people who have experienced a traumatic situation
it is very important that trained staff is available to work with them
to develop greater trust and confidence as well as enhance their own
competencies to face situations that may arise from time to time. In
this situation there is a dire need for professional social workers to
be attached to these areas to assist them in adjusting to their new
environments and also live peacefully as families and as communities.
Though social work has not been accepted as a profession in Sri
Lanka, NISD has gone a long way, as mentioned in the article to prepare
professionally trained social workers who could perform as generalist
practioneers, at mid management level or at management levels. The
training programs help develop knowledge, attitudes and skills to
enhance the job competencies of staff working in their respective
agencies and departments. This is human resource development in the
correct area at the correct time and all work done by NISD must be made
known to policy makers, administrators, ministries and development
oriented organizations. It is perhaps due to lack of knowledge that it
is seen in the daily papers calling for applicants to serve in these
areas and they do not specifically mention social work as a required
qualification. Sometimes they mention Sociology or rural development but
it must be made clear that a multidisciplinary approach is used as
mentioned earlier in the preparation of a social worker.
In some countries where social work is accepted as a profession they
now look for ‘Evidence Based Practice’ meaning to say what impact social
work interventions have had on individuals, families and communities. In
the Community Action Oriented Organization I worked in the United
States, as the Director of a program which helped poor families to move
towards self-sufficiency, the funding Organizations had a measurement
tool called ROMA (Result Oriented Management Accountability) and all
interventions had to show what actually happened or the steps taken to
move families towards self sufficiency. Even when a family increases
their income levels it was important to show how increased income is
positively impacting on the quality of life. All this shows that social
work as a profession can positively contribute to peoples development
and this is the need at this point in time in our country and the
Mahinda Chinthanaya as a policy document endorses this.
The National Institute of Social Development can definitely be a
great asset and what is being done should get more publicity not only as
education or training programs being conducted, but the impact they are
having on the people. |
