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A university programme designed to train more social workers from under-represented communities has been expanded to offer even more opportunities.
Bridging the Gap is a new initiative that’s been launched by Liverpool Hope University, in conjunction with Liverpool City Council.
And the scheme’s mission is to train and employ more social workers from Black and Global Majority groups.
When the project was launched late last year, offered extra spaces on Hope’s undergraduate BA in Social Work exclusively for those from under-represented communities and Global Majority groups who currently live in the Liverpool city region.
But now Bridging the Gap has been extended to also offer additional places on Hope’s Master’s degree in Social Work, too.
Amina Saeed, Professional Tutor in Social Work at Hope, Project Lead on Bridging the Gap, said: “Applying for a place on a Social Work degree course is a highly competitive process and many programmes, including ours, are enormously over-subscribed.
“But by creating extra places exclusively for those from diverse backgrounds, we want to create opportunities for people who could ultimately go on to make a real difference to the social work landscape in Liverpool.
“The message is clear - the city needs more social workers from under-represented communities and Global Majority groups.
“Bridging the Gap aims to open-up exciting new opportunities for people who might never have even considered a career as a social worker before.
“Which is why we’re delighted to be able to expand Bridging the Gap to our Master’s degree in Social Work, as well as our undergraduate degree.”
Applications for the Bridging the Gap pathway are now open for both the BA in Social Work and the MA in Social Work. For more details visit the or email socialwork@hope.ac.uk.
The remit for Bridging the Gap covers a huge range of communities that aren't adequately represented in Liverpool's social work teams. That includes Black, Asian, Chinese, Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Yemeni, Somali, Black African and Black Caribbean communities - and a whole lot more besides.
It's open to anyone living in the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which incorporates the councils of Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, and Wirral.
And 15 extra places have been created for such applications - with the 15 places spread across the BA and the MA in Social Work.
As well as a clear pathway into social work, there are other major benefits of joining Bridging the Gap.
All students on Bridging the Gap will be offered a lucrative work placement with Liverpool City Council.
They will also be assigned a special Mentor - a professional social worker from one of the above-mentioned diverse communities and with close ties to Liverpool City Council, and who is there to provide advice, support and guidance.
Amina adds: “By opening-up Bridging the Gap for both Master’s students, it doesn’t just create new opportunities, it also forges a fresh pathway for BA Social Work graduates who wish to pursue a professional qualification that could increase their employment prospects.”
Bridging the Gap has also been endorsed and acclaimed by some high profile campaigners in Liverpool.
Leading activist Chantelle Lunt, founder of the Merseyside Black Lives Matter Alliance, said of the project in November last year: “I think it’s really important to have more diverse Social Work applicants because Black and Global Majority children represent 25 per cent of the care population, yet they’re very unlikely to have a Black social worker or Black carer.
“I grew up in care. And there are real challenges faced by Black people within the care system, particularly when it comes to cultural misunderstandings and general cultural barriers.
“If you’re Black and you go into care, you not only lose your family link, but you also can lose your cultural link, because quite often in the Black community those cultural links and traditions are in the family bubble and passed on through family and friendship connections.
“I was in Liverpool 8, Toxteth, as a child but when I went into care I was moved right to the outskirts of the city, to a predominantly white area. Although I had a Black carer - which I was very fortunate to have and which many Black children don’t enjoy - I didn’t get a Black community. A lot of my culture was lost.
“And it’s here where a Black social worker could really help.”
For full details about Bridging the Gap have a look at the project’s Facebook page.
To apply for the Bridging the Gap route into social work - for either BA or MA - simply email socialwork@hope.ac.uk in the first instance in order to express an interest.
The Social Work team at Hope will then simply guide you through the process from that point on. Again, just email socialwork@hope.ac.uk saying you're interested in Bridging the Gap.