Social Workers
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Job description
These individuals help persons or groups acquire skills to function in society. They offer counselling services and intervene to meet various needs (unemployment, racism, poverty, etc.). They are self-employed or work in:
- Hospitals
- School centres
- Social service agencies
- Child protection services
- Correctional facilities
- Community organizations
- Employee assistance programs
- Aboriginal Band Councils
- Private environments
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
Main tasks
- Assess people’s situations and problems and determine the services they need.
- Counsel clients and help them deal with their social and personal problems.
- Develop and evaluate assistance, prevention, and intervention programs.
- Investigate and take protective measures in cases of child abuse or neglect.
- Intervene with groups of clients in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team.
- Advocate on behalf of client groups in the community and lobby to resolve issues that affect them.
- Develop or advise on social policy.
- Conduct social research.
- Assist in community development.
- Provide mediation and psychosocial assessment services.
Advancement and mobility
- These individuals may specialize in various fields of practice (child protection, corrections, addictions, etc.).
Hourly wage
The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2022 to 2024.- Minimum
- $25.00
- Median
- $36.00
- Maximum
- $48.00
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects
All of Québec
All of Québec
Total jobs for 2023
All of Québec
All of Québec
Gender distribution
All of Québec
- 87.3% Female
- 12.7% Male
- 87.3% Female
- 12.7% Male
Job types
All of Québec
- Full time
- Part time
- Full time
- Part time
Yearly wage on 2020
All of Québec
All of Québec
Other characteristics
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
All of Québec
- Non traditional for men
- None
Sectors of activity
All of Québec
-
NAICS 621, 622, 62364% of jobs
-
NAICS 62421% of jobs
-
NAICS 815% of jobs
-
NAICS 914% of jobs
-
NAICS 613% of jobs
-
Others3% of jobs
All of Québec
-
NAICS 621, 622, 62364% of jobs
-
NAICS 62421% of jobs
-
NAICS 815% of jobs
-
NAICS 914% of jobs
-
NAICS 613% of jobs
-
Others3% of jobs
Training and requirements
Formation
Most training programs are offered in French only.
University
Criminology
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 73.6%
24.5% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 86.5%
10.8% of graduates pursue further studies
Psychology
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 35.3%
60.2% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 23.3%
69.8% of graduates pursue further studies
Sexology
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 59.5%
35.7% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 80%
20% of graduates pursue further studies
Social work
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 88.8%
7.9% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 84.4%
9.9% of graduates pursue further studies
Also required
- Membership in the Ordre des travailleurs sociaux et des thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec (OTSTCFQ [Quebec Order of Social Workers and Conjugal and Family Therapists]) to bear the title of Social Worker.
Sometimes required
- Practical internship under supervision usually required.
- Possibility of practising family mediation provided that a family mediation accreditation is obtained.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Active listening
- Oral expression
- Social perception
- Critical thought
- Reading comprehension
- Coordination
- Written expression
- Service oriented
- Solving complex problems
- Judgment and decision-making
- Active learning
- Teaching
- Result evaluation
- Systems evaluation
- Time management
- Learning strategies
- Negotiation
- Persuasion
- Operation analysis
- Human resource management
Abilities
- Oral comprehension
- Verbal skills
- Awareness of issues
- Written comprehension
- Deductive reasoning
- Inductive reasoning
- Speech clarity
- Speech recognition
- Written expression
- Idea generation
- Information organization
- Classification
- Distance vision
- Near vision
- Selective attention
- Originality
- Time sharing
Knowledge and attributes
- Capacity to establish and maintain interpersonal relations
- Sense of responsibility
- Capacity to work in a team
- Commitment
- Capacity to be discrete
- Friendliness
- Capacity to facilitate a group
- Knowledge of psychology
- Knowledge of therapy and counselling
- Knowledge of sociology and anthropology
Interests
- Draft, communicate, and inform
- Watch, defend, and secure
- Carry out research
- Assist and advise
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Artistic
- People with this profile prefer to express their emotions and thoughts through various art forms. They like to use their imagination.
Official name of the NOC 41300
Social workers
Job titles
- School social worker
- Addiction social worker
- Caseworker - social work
- Family social worker
- Social workers supervisor
- Social work officer
- Human relations officer - social work
- Intake worker - social services
- Case work consultant - social work
- Case management consultant - social work
- Social casework consultant
- Coordinator of social work
- Children's aid investigator
- Social worker
- Child welfare social worker
- Social work supervisor
- Casework supervisor - social work
- Certified social worker
- Registered social worker
- Social work officer - canadian armed forces
- Psychiatric social worker
- Medical social worker
- Group social worker
- Geriatric social worker
- Case management social worker
Skill type
Education, law and social, community and government services
Last update: January 29, 2026