Thousands of social workers in Shanghai will become the first in China to be granted official status and certification and allowed to engage in non-profit-making operations.

Shanghai conducted examinations last November for social workers applying for certification, with 5,568 candidates participating. The exams were the first of their kind in China.

Those who passed the test will be able to described themselves as "Social Workers" or "Assistant Social Workers".

The social workers, aged from 18 to 65, are mostly teachers, governmental officials or medical workers, with at least two years work experience.

As the city continues to undergo rapid economic development, social problems, such as unemployment, the aging of citizens and rising levels of crime, have become a major concern giving rise to an urgent need for a large number of social workers with proper professional skills.

According to Xu Jianjun, the deputy director of the Pudong Youth League Committee Bureau, social work is a career for those able to diagnose and cure social diseases and provide assistance to disadvantaged groups in society.

He said a "renovation" of the social system had resulted in social work becoming a new career choice in Shanghai.

The qualification certificate would provide recognition of social workers and ensure they were able to meet the growing social need for specialized and high-quality social service providers.

The qualification certificate would also guarantee the quality of the services they will provide because the examination requires a sound knowledge of education, the law, psychology and so on. "They will have good training before they become qualified social workers or assistant social workers" said Sha Wei, the director of social work training in Xuhui District.

The majority of social workers in the country are still waiting for official recognition of their professional status and qualifications. However, in Shanghai, social workers will be under the authority of the local government and organized by non-government organizations.

New life aid

In Shanghai, there are more than 10,000 social workers, such as Yao, working in hospitals, schools and residential areas, doing social work ranging from monitoring the lives of children of migrant workers adjusting to life in the city to the provision of medical services.

Yao Shumei, a college graduate who majored in social work, has been working as a social worker in a school for the children of migrant workers since 2002.

Every day, she rises at 6:00am to catch the bus to Baichuan School located in Gaoqiao Town, 40 minutes away by bus.

Baichuan School is a makeshift school in a residential area for migrant workers, with more than 1,000 students from East China's Anhui and Jiangsu provinces.

"The students cannot easily adjust to the new environment which is in great contrast to the villages they were born and had been living in. The changes impose a great strain on them, especially psychologically," Yao said.

Yao said her work involved making friends with the students and helping them with their psychological problems.

Migration and the change in their environment has had a negative effect on their feeling of social stability and safety and also plays a role affecting their studies and their mental development.

The difficulty in communication because of language changes and different lifestyles and culture causes them to lose self-confidence. Their potential often fails to be developed because of a lack of care and financial support.

Yao Shumei is receiving letters from students who post them in a mail box she has installed on a wall in the teaching building. Yao hopes to learn what their problems are and says that so far some "60 per cent of the letters are concerned with family problems".

One of Yao's jobs is to visit the students' families, helping to bring the lives of the students and their parents closer together

She has organized an activity called "We are Shanghainese" to help the students realize they are members of the city community and will be treated equally.

Yao has become the most popular figure in the school. She not only regarded as a "best friend" by the students but she has also won the trust and affection of teachers and parents.

"They are changing the social life of Shanghai," said Doctor Gu Donghui, an expert in social work at Fudan University.

Better management

The city government through the Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau plans to improve the supervision of local social workers step by step - by regularizing their professional work, their salaries, training and expert appraisal.

Shanghai's Xuhui, Luwan and Yangpu districts have begun to train social workers who provide social services ranging from medical care to juvenile education. The ongoing social work carried out by the government falls mainly into three categories: "anti-smoking", "reform of juvenile delinquency" and "assistance to troublesome youths."

The anti-smoking work consists of helping tobacco users to quit the habit and providing support and encouragement to enable them to begin to live a new life. The other two activities focus on criminal activities and on youths with education problems.

The training of social workers began as early as last June to give them the specialized skills and knowledge needed to work as qualified social workers or assistant social workers.

Sha Wei, in charge of the training programme for social workers engaged in providing "assistance to troublesome youths" in Xuhui District, said she attached great importance to being trained properly because "they will the first group whose performance will determine people's attitude towards social workers".

She has prepared comprehensive and specialized courses for the candidates, including knowledge seminars on youth education, psychology and sociology. The courses will last more than four months.

"We will continue the training as we learn what they lack in their daily work," Sha said. "It is a long process."

The social workers will be provided with an office in the rooms occupied by residential committees and will receive their pay from local government.

"Although the pay is not very good, I love the job because I feel very proud to be able to help people get out of trouble," said Huang Danwen, a social worker participating in the training programme.

She is now helping a jobless youth improve his troubled relationship with his family and find a job.

"Young men appear very independent and very indifferent. But actually, they are in bad need of help and support," Huang said.

She found young men became friendly when they found she was really happy and willing to help them.

Pudong District started its social work programme as early as 1996 and offers social services ranging from school education to providing care for the elderly. Non-governmental organizations also play an active role.

"The qualification certificate is a great step in social development," Gu Donghui said.

The government has changed its role in managing society. "Now the government tries to play a role as a guide and lets social resources solve the social problems."

(Shanghai Star  March 5, 2004)