‘Thrown into a pit’: Early-career social workers’ preparedness for practice

Abstract

This study investigates the perceptions of early-career social workers on their academic preparation for their social work employment in the context of the challenging road and ambitious comeback of social work in post-communist Romania. Results showed respondents felt ill-prepared in their transition from education to their employment and received limited resources from employers to support the application of knowledge and skills learnt at university to the realities of daily professional practice. A multi-pronged approach is needed to educate new social workers at both university and employer levels with the goal of providing quality social services to clients and their families.