How well prepared are newly qualified social workers for working with substance use issues? findings from a national survey in England

There is limited research in the United Kingdom on how well prepared social workers are for working with substance use issues. This study set out to explore the views of newly qualified social workers on the extent to which their qualifying programme prepared them for practice with people using alcohol or drugs. It also sought to identify their future training needs and identify examples of good practice among qualifying programmes. A self-completion questionnaire was developed and disseminated via email to 2,914 newly qualified social workers in England; 284 questionnaires were returned. Findings suggested that most respondents considered themselves inadequately prepared for working with substance use and misuse issues. They reported having very little input during qualifying education and identified a range of future training needs. Few examples of good practice were identified. In light of these findings, social work academics and employers need to recognise this serious gap in knowledge and act quickly to ensure social workers are able to meet their service users’ needs confidently and competently.