Professional Development for Social Service Workers of Kharkiv Region Begins at Karazin University

On April 25, Karazin University began the professional development training for a new group of participants under the educational program "Social Work" (specialty 231). The participants include employees from social service centers (departments) and agencies from 6 cities, 5 townships, and 4 rural councils in the Bohodukhiv, Izium, Lozova, Kharkiv, and Chuhuiv districts of Kharkiv region. These employees provide social support and practical work with various population groups. Among the learners are representatives of territorial communities from de-occupied regions of the area.

This initiative at the university is carried out in cooperation with the Kharkiv Regional Center for Social Services.

During the first session, the director of the Center for Postgraduate Education, Mykhailo Tatarynov, introduced the participants to the specifics and details of the educational process, conducted an introductory briefing on health and safety, addressed participants' pressing questions, and facilitated an exchange of views on the organization, implementation, and scientific-methodological support of social services with different population categories in the region, including internally displaced persons. Social service workers participating in the professional development courses proposed a list of current and urgent issues needing immediate resolution during the training and actively engaged in the initial evaluation.

The educational process for this category of social workers will be further provided by the academic staff of the Department of Sociology of Management and Social Work, the authors of the working educational program in specialty 231 "Social Work," including the Head of the Department, Iryna Yevdokymova, and Associate Professors Olena Plakhova and Svitlana Sadrytska.

The training for course participants will continue at the University's Center for Postgraduate Education until May 15, 2024.