Albanian Social Work as a Challenging Journey from Education to Profession

Social workers play a vital role in providing social services and improving the lives of individuals and the community. Despite this, their professionalism in fulfilling this role is related to how the services are organized and their education level, qualifications after completing studies, and rewards. The study aims to further investigate the assessment of social workers who graduated in Albania and their preparation for the labour market to highlight the need for continuous education towards professional improvement. It applies a mixed research methodology with the application of three research instruments: a cross-sectional questionnaire (n=450), semi-structured interviews (n=10), and focus groups (n=7). The findings influence the expansion of capacities and improvement of current curricula by periodically reviewing and enriching with new insights gained through experience, helping advance the professionals who reported being trained from different sources but don't possess certified and accredited continuous qualifications. Participants evidenced more practice hours to help students feel more prepared to understand and provide social services, especially in the early stages of their careers. Also, they expressed a deep commitment to their profession despite challenges such as inadequate pay, the overwhelming workload and problematic infrastructure towards services, the challenge of being still unrecognized in their professional roles, and the necessity of being supervised in their work. A strong connection between academic institutions, evidence and the labour market will influence the career possibilities of social workers and the well-being of individuals and society.