List of Subject-Specific Competences
1. Capacity to establish and maintain a mutual trust-based relation with the client (the client‘s system).
2. Capacity to communicate with the client (the client‘s system) at his level of understanding.
3. Capacity to understand the particular needs of a specific client group and provide the assistance taking them into account.
4. Capacity to identify the needs of a client (the client‘s system) and develop the assistance strategy and process in the way enabling the client (the client‘s system) to act independently.
5. Capacity to identify instances of violations of the client‘s rights (the client‘s system) and be able to eliminate them efficiently.
6. Understanding of different methods of social work with clients and ability to apply them properly.
7. Capacity to consult a client (the client‘s system) being guided by appropriate counselling concepts and techniques.
8. Capacity to adhere to principles of moral behaviour when communicating with client (the client‘s system).
9. Capacity to mobilise for the purpose of working with the client (the client‘s system) all required resources – from the client‘s environment, other specialists, organisations, community, etc.
10. Capacity to deal with extreme forms of aggression and conflicts.
11. Capacity to responsibly handle confidential information of the client (the client‘s system).
12. Capacity to reflect and assess the process of one‘s work with the client (the client‘s system).
13. Capacity to use internal and external human, financial and other resources for the purpose of organising and improving the relevant social assistance.
14. Capacity to work in cooperation with representatives of other professions in a multidisciplinary environment.
15. Capacity to assess and improve the quality of social assistance.
16. Capacity to properly apply legal provisions of the state social assistance system, and use them when organising the provision of social assistance.
17. Capacity to efficiently represent the rights and interests of clients of social assistance and their groups.
18. Capacity to document the processes of assistance to a client (client‘s system).
19. Capacity to design and develop innovative social assistance strategies.
20. Knowledge of legal acts governing human rights and ability to apply them in practice.
21. Capacity to analyse and understand (on the basis of the relevant theories) social processes in the society and be able to project their impact upon the area of social assistance.
22. Capacity to identify (in the community or the society) a need for social assistance and propose efficient assistance strategies following the principles of sustainable development.
23. Capacity to critically reflect the standards of ethics applicable to social work, its legal system and its role in the society.
24. Capacity to identify the need for one‘s professional improvement and seek to meet the need while responding to the most relevant trends in the profession and adhering to the life-long learning principle.
25. Capacity to guide the activities of social assistants and volunteers.
26. Capacity to initiate and implement programmes designed to prevent social problems.
27. Understanding of the responsibilities, limits of competences, subordination relations and networks of cooperation of the State social assistance administration framework.
28. Capacity to assemble the local community and enable it to engage in assistance activity.
29. Capacity to reflect on one‘s professional performance referring to theoretical knowledge and possibilities to obtain peer advice.
30. Capacity to analyse social problems referring to the relevant theoretical knowledge related to social work, results of social research and an interdisciplinary approach.
31. Capacity to initiate and develop the activity of self-assistance groups and movements.
32. Capacity to professionally support initiatives and movements seeking to reduce social exclusion, discrimination, and ensure social justice..
33. Capacity to efficiently participate in professional and inter-professional discussions while developing the social work profession.
34. Capacity to carry out an applied or research social survey and use the findings of the survey in the practice of social work.
35. Capacity to critically analyse social policy and affect it.
36. Capacity to properly apply legal provisions on social assistance of the European Union and other international institutions
37. Knowledge of the historic development of the profession of social work and capacity to critically reflect upon the most important trends in the profession.
38. Capacity to proliferate and publish results of relevant research and applied activities.
8 more competences were suggested by the employers consulted:
1. Develop relations with the client based on mutual trust to ensure an optimal social functioning and acting in unexpected situations.
2. Organise social assistance while applying different methods of social work and strategies of assistance and being guided by national and international legal acts and professional ethics.
3. Initiate and implement innovative programme for prevention of social problems, and social assistance strategies seeking social justice and personal and social well-being.
4. Cooperate with representatives and institutions of social work and other fields and professions seeking to ensure an efficient social assistance.
5. Initiate changes in the society seeking to ensure the enforcement of human rights.
6. Affect impact upon social policy in relation to analysis and assessment of social processes referring to theories and practices of social work and other areas.
7. Develop and consolidate the social worker profession by conducting surveys to develop new knowledge in the area of social work and improve the social work practice.
8. Continuously improve one‘s professional performance by adhering to the life-long learning principle.