How to become a social worker in Northern Ireland

To become a social worker in Northern Ireland you complete the Degree in Social Work, register with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC), and finish a supervised Assessed Year in Employment (AYE) in your first job. The degree is the recognised qualification to practise here. Health and Social Care trusts are the main employers, and a regional newly qualified social worker post was advertised at Band 5 (£31,049 to £37,796) in May 2026.

The degree routes

nidirect lists the approved routes:

• A three-year full-time degree at Queen’s University Belfast (BSW) or Ulster University (BSc Honours).
• A two-year full-time graduate-entry degree at either university, for people who already hold a relevant honours degree.
• A three-year BSc (Hons) with Ulster University delivered at Belfast Metropolitan College or South West College.
• A part-time, work-based BA through the Open University, approved by NISCC in 2020, for eligible people who work in social care and have employer support.

Each university sets its own entry criteria and selection process, so check the current prospectus. You register with NISCC as a student social worker while you study.

Funding

The Department of Health runs the Social Work Student Incentive Scheme. To be eligible you must live in Northern Ireland, be on a full-time NISCC-approved social work degree in Northern Ireland, and be registered with NISCC as a student social worker. Eligible students receive £4,000 a year of study, plus £500 a year towards practice learning expenses, and you have to enrol with your university or college before you apply. Open University part-time students are not eligible.

Registration and the Assessed Year in Employment

NISCC regulates the social work workforce. After your degree, you apply to be placed on the social work part of the Register. NISCC’s AYE guidance says the Assessed Year can only begin once that has happened, and registration comes with a condition that you successfully complete the AYE, effective for a minimum of a calendar year.

The details come from NISCC’s published guidance, which it revises, so confirm the current version. The April 2021 guidance sets out these requirements:

• supervision by an experienced registered social worker, at least fortnightly for the first six months and at least monthly after that;
• at least ten training and development days;
• a certificate of completion signed off at the end, which NISCC needs before it removes the condition.

The guidance applies to newly qualified social workers wherever they graduated. It also says that someone who has worked in a social work post outside Northern Ireland for a calendar year, with that employer confirming competence, does not have to do the AYE on returning. Ask NISCC about your own case.

Where you work

HSC trusts are the main employers, and the jobs.hscni.net site lists the main service areas:

• children’s services, including residential care, secure care and community teams for safeguarding, family support, early years and disability;
• older people’s services;
• hospital social work;
• physical health, disability and sensory services for under-65s;
• mental health;
• learning disability.

Social workers also work in the criminal justice, education and voluntary sectors, and the AYE requirement applies there too. To see how roles compare with England, read children’s social worker and adult social worker.

How to get a post

Trust posts are advertised on jobs.hscni.net and use the shared HSC form, which scores you against essential criteria. See how to apply for HSC jobs. For newly qualified staff the HSC has used a regional waiting list, as in the May 2026 advert, which opened on 15 May and closed on 26 May 2026 and was run through the Business Services Organisation. Watch the site in the months before you graduate.

Pay

The advertised Band 5 range for a newly qualified social worker was £31,049 to £37,796. Pay bands for HSC staff are explained in Agenda for Change in Northern Ireland, and the 2026/27 award had not been confirmed when this was written. UK-wide comparisons are in social worker pay.