The Berwick campus of Federation University will be one of two to launch the Bachelor of Social Work degree in order to help address skills shortages in the social and community services sector.
The Mt Helen Campus is the second recipient, with the degree co-designed with industry partners to meet workforce needs.
It aims to give students in both the Berwick and Ballarat areas the opportunity to study closer to home, where they can maintain ties with their communities and families.
Fed Uni’s professor of social work and human services, Jennifer Martin, said that the “success we experienced at our Gippsland campus demonstrated a strong demand for social work education, and we are committed to providing this opportunity to even more students across our campuses”.
“These courses have been co-designed in association with our industry partners and will equip students with the skills, knowledge and real-world experience they need to meet the high demand for social work graduates,” she said.
The Gippsland campus saw the successful launch of the degree last year, with the course’s expansion following close work with local stakeholders and industry partners to develop a program that reflects the unique needs and challenges of these communities.
In the broader community scale, social workers are employed in a variety of government, non-government, and community organisations that provide counselling, advocacy, community development, policy development, and research in areas like child protection and family violence.
This also applies to family support, community health, housing, disability, justice and aged care.
Senior manager of education and early intervention services at Berry Street Western Region, Andrew McCausland, said that they are proud to work with Fed Uni.
“Collaborating on research projects and supporting local students to develop regionally aware perspectives about the service system.
“Local graduates are vital, and this course will help us to ensure practical delivery reflects the regional environment, which includes high rates of family violence and specific homelessness cohorts,” he said.
The degree will commence in Semester 1 of 2026 and will include 140 days of placement, where students will be exposed to real-life situations in social work settings.
Experienced professionals in the field will support students who will experience working with children and families, people of diverse cultural backgrounds and gender diversity.
Students will also have the chance to learn to work effectively with people with substance use issues and mental health problems, and in palliative care, child protection, youth services and much more.
For more information, visit study.federation.edu.au
