DPR News
UCC launched the first ever Apprenticeship in Social Work
UCC launched the first ever Apprenticeship in Social Work in Ireland on 11th September 2024. Staff from the School of Applied Social Studies, Employers, Mentors and other stakeholders gathered to welcome the first cohort of Apprentices in Social Work as they began their first week of term on the MSW and PDSWS programmes.
Professor Stephen Byrne opened the event and welcomed the apprentices, describing the launch as ‘an historically important step for UCC’. He noted that UCC’s collaboration with Generation Apprenticeship and Industry partners on the delivery of the Apprenticeship in Social work is testament to how ‘our educational system can be enhanced when we form real partnerships between the education sector and enterprise’ and thanked the Social Work team for the enormous amount of work they have done over the past number of months to successfully deliver such a unique learning model.
Deborah Smullen, National HR Lead for Social Care, HSE, congratulated the apprentices and thanked the Mentors for their ongoing support of the apprentices’ on-the-job learning.
Many conversations with apprentices followed the opening speeches, during which they shared their life experiences and how the Apprenticeship in Social Work had enabled them to fulfil their dream of becoming Social Workers.