Salary Guide: How Much Are Social Workers In Singapore Paid

Some of you may feel that spark of joy when making another person’s day seem brighter. Or you feel riled up when you see injustice and want to help people in need. Perhaps a career in social work could be your calling.

The need to have a bigger heart to want to help children, families and the elderly improve their lives is probably one thing that you will require to have to be a part of this community.

There are various ways you can work towards a social worker career in Singapore and we will also explore the salaries. Thankfully as the industry is partly supported by the government, you do have pretty decent paychecks to take home.

Get Qualified With The Proper Education And Certifications

There are different paths to social work. You can start off at any point in the education system, from Institute of Technical Education to A Levels.

Here’s a basic chart on a career trajectory to pursuing a social work profession:

Image Credit: Angela Teng/DollarsAndSense

The university programmes offering a specialisation in Social Work include SIM University (UniSIM), National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).

The degrees are Bachelor of Social Work with or without honours for UniSIM and Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Social Work for NUS.

If you are a mid-career person, you can also pursue a Graduate Diploma in Social Work from NUS or UniSIM. You need to have a first degree in any discipline with relevant experience.

There are also programmes and schemes offered by institutions to allow you to try out social work. This includes the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) for Social Workers by Social Service Institute and the PCP for Social Workers by Workforce Singapore

What Are The Possible Specialisation Areas

There are around six areas of specialisation in the social work sector:

–       Children, Youth and Family

–       Eldercare

–       Disability

–       Rehabilitation and Protection

–       Medical, Psychiatric and Mental Health

–       Social Policy/Administration

The social work roles can range from public to private entities. For those who feel the calling to help children and their families who are struggling with social or psychological issues in school, at home or in the community, then the path to specialise in will be towards Children, Youth, and Family.

Social workers specialising in Eldercare tend to work with nursing homes and hospitals to take care of senior citizens. They are also responsible for creating events and activities for seniors in nursing homes and activity centres.

How Much Are Social Workers Paid

The National Council of Social Services’ salary guidelines for the social service sector (with effect from April 2023) recommends social service agencies to take reference from the guidelines.

The salary guidelines indicate market pay references for job roles in the sector and are reviewed regularly with annual adjustments to reflect general wage movement.

Job seekers should not compare the guidelines with previous years as the job roles do change.

Monthly gross salary is comprised of the base salary and fixed allowances. The recommended Starting Salaries denote positions that do not require significant transferable experience. The Reference Point denotes those who are competent on the job, and it is not the maximum point. In addition, individual salaries may reflect market conditions and each agency’s wage policies.

The minimum entry qualification for Social Workers is a Bachelor’s degree or a Graduate Diploma in Social Work.

Training Officers

The person will have to assist and support the people requiring care with the implementation of activity programmes. This includes planning activities and supporting clients, preparing teaching resources and planning activities to support activities.

The starting salary of a Training Assistant is $1,890 and can rise to $3,940 for competent Senior Training Officers.

Care Staff

A care staff provides personal care assistance to people who need support in their daily living and performs tasks according to the care plans developed by social services or healthcare professionals. He or she will maintain the documentation of the health condition and care treatments of people under their care as well as accompany them between appointments and activities to ensure safe transfers.

A Care Staff salary starts from $1,790 and can reach close to $3,000 for senior roles.

Nursing

The candidate will have to manage patients’ care, train caregivers to provide basic care, assess patients’ physical and mental wellness and perform clinical procedures. You can be considered a profession that some people have a higher regard towards.

A Senior Staff Nurse can earn above $4,000 if they are competent, with the entry level role being a Nursing Aide, at $1,670.

Early Intervention Teaching

You are responsible for implementing preschool programmes and curriculum, developing and preparing curriculum resources, and providing and maintaining a safe and conducive learning environment for students.

An Educator Aide starts at $1,880 and a Senior Lead EI Educator can earn around $9,000.

You will also need to have the following qualifications:

Educators with EI professional qualifications (Specialist Diploma in Early Childhood Intervention (Special Needs) (SDESN)) and range of academic profiles, including Degree, Diploma, and experienced A-level holders.

Therapy

You will need to assess and formulate care plans for people who are under your care. You can also provide interventions such as supportive counselling and service referral. There are different types of therapist roles including physiotherapists and occupational therapists. The roles all require restoration efforts to allow planned recovery of patients’ health conditions.

A Therapy Assistant starts at $1,790, and a Senior Principal Therapist which is the top job for this profession, can earn more than $10,000.

Note: Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Speech-Language Therapists are required to be registered with the Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC). You can refer to the AHPC website for more details here.

Psychology

You will have to manage and assess routine psychological cases, and provide structured brief interventions and routine psychological interventions. You will also have to deliver psychological and psychoeducational programmes.

A Senior Principal Psychologist can earn $12,000 and an entry level Associate Psychologist earns $3,600.

Social Work

You will be tasked to provide interventions and programmes, and perform community development work. You also have to prepare social reports as well as support the implementation of standards to manage people who need care.

Social Workers earn a salary band of $2,570 to more than $11,000, depending on experience.

Management/Executive Roles

This is the more administrative side of the social work industry. You will have to plan and implement policies and work alongside the guidelines and practices of the social work industry. You will also manage and grow the team depending on your management level.

If you plan to enter this route, note that Clerical Officers or Associates start from $2,010. Meanwhile, a Head of Agency managing a large group (operation budget of more than $10 million) can earn $17,000.

Read Also: Editor’s Take: Why Learning New Skills Has Never Been Just About Pay Or Career Growth 

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