VietNamNet Bridge – How to develop social work in Vietnam and build a professional workforce was the focus of a workshop held in central highlands Lam Dong Province.

The workshop was jointly held by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Swedish Children Relief Association at Da Lat University on November 11.

The participants noted that although there are 15,000-20,000 amateur social workers in Vietnam, it is not recognised as a profession.

In addition to a series of pressing social issues occurring nationwide, the country has more than 7.5 million elderly people, with more than 500,000 over the age of 85. There are also 5.3 million handicapped people and more than 400,000 disadvantaged children.

The shortage of professional social workers has resulted to ineffective and unsustainable settlement of social issues.

At present, 23 universities and colleges nationwide are involved in training social workers. Around 1,000 students graduate from these institutions each year but more than half of the graduates have not been employed in their trained field.

(Source: VNA)