Social workers

In British Columbia, social workers play a vital role in providing counseling, and supportive social services to individuals, families, and communities. 

About social workers

Social workers promote the well-being of individuals, families, and communities by helping them navigate health and social systems, and by connecting them with services and resources to overcome social, economic, emotional, and psychological barriers. 

Social workers are represented by organizations such as the British Columbia College of Social Workers, which sets standards for registered social workers, and the BC Association of Social Workers, which promotes the profession and its values.   

To become a registered social worker in B.C., individuals must meet specific registration requirements, which can be found on the British Columbia College of Social Workers website.   

Social workers scope of practice include: 

  • assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of individual, interpersonal and societal issues
  • application of social work knowledge, skills, interventions and strategies, to assist individuals, couples, families, groups, organizations and communities to achieve optimum psychological and social functioning 
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  • To practice as a registered social worker in British Columbia, you must be registered with the BC College of Social Workers (BCCSW).
  • Registration with the BCCSW is required for social worker jobs in BC’s health authorities and Providence Health Care. However, social workers may be exempt from registration with BCCSW when employed by other organizations in BC such as First Nations.
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  • Hospitals  
  • Mental health and addiction clinics   
  • Primary care networks 
  • Home care agencies   
  • Community health
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British Columbia’s publicly funded health authorities offer comprehensive compensation packages for regular-status employees, including employer-paid benefits:

  • Wages: $42.27 – $52.81 CAD per hour (as of April 1, 2024) plus applicable shift premiums 
  • Paid vacation time: 4 weeks per year, after first year of employment 
  • Pension Plan 
  • BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) 
  • Extended health care  
  • Dental coverage   
  • Life insurance 
  • Short-term and long-term disability
  • Employee and Family Assistance Plan
  • Other benefits: such as maternity, paternity and adoption leaves 
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The British Columbia College of Social Workers houses information for internationally educated social workers, please see the following resources on their website: 

  • Applicants with a degree from the USA
  • Applicants with a degree from outside of Canada or the USA
  • Applicants without a social work degree from an academic program approved by the board
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There’s never been a better time to join B.C.’s public health system

British Columbia has welcomed many people from diverse backgrounds in our communities, coming for all types of health care positions. 

Come to B.C. to experience welcoming communities, supportive work environments, competitive compensation, and nature, right at your doorstep.

Descriptive video transcript

Video title: BC Health Careers – Practicing as a social worker in British Columbia

[Describer] An aerial view moving forward over a community in BC’s interior, surrounded by mountains, during winter. 

[Narrator] Internationally trained healthcare professionals are coming to British Columbia, including those working in Allied Health. Katie is a social worker from Oklahoma. 

[Text] 2,578 km to BC. Katie appears on-screen. 

[Text] Katie, Social Worker MSW, RSW 

[Katie] Safety was very important for us just because being part of the LGBT+ community and having a young child, it was very important for us to always feel like we were safe, but to make sure he was safe as our priority. And that is exactly what we felt like here.  

[Describer] Katie spending time walking with her family of three through a small town with character. They look up together at a clock tower with an animatronic man peering out of a window above the clock. 

[Katie] It’s almost hard to describe Kimberly, except for a place that does feel like home if you’re away from home. And it was almost this feeling of relief and calm that kind of came over us. 

[Narrator] She sees the benefit of working within a patient-first, universal healthcare system. 

[Describer] Clips of Katie working one-on-one with a client, talking on-screen, driving in a rural area, and looking up while standing facing her city in the distance. 

[Katie] I am usually used to working with people who, in the last few years of their life, they have lost all their money trying to pay for whatever illness or diagnosis or disease that they have. A lot of my patients, they don’t have to struggle as much about how their bills are going to be paid. It’s a wonderful thing through universal health care. 

[Text] Patients don’t have to struggle 

[Narrator] Some allied health professionals in British Columbia, who are unionized and work in the public sector, benefit from competitive pay, pensions, extended health coverage, and paid parental leave. 

[Describer] Katie sitting at her desk while talking to a couple of colleagues. 

[Text] Competitive pay, pensions, extended health coverage, paid parental leave. 

[Katie] I would say, especially with working in the hospitals, they care about the social work opinion here. Even the managers, they want to see how holistically can we help this patient.  

[Describer] Visuals alternate of hospital building exterior and interior areas including signage and ambulance parking. Then Katie appears talking on-screen. 

[Katie] I think working with other allied health professionals is really just a holistic approach to how we’re helping patients. I know who they are. We all are in personal contact with each other. It’s not this huge system where I don’t know everyone. We’re all connected. 

[Describer] Aerial view of Kimberley, BC. 

[Text] 70+ disciplines in allied health. 

[Describer] Different visuals of Kimberley BC, including Katie walking along a hiking trail, bowling with her family, working with colleagues, talking on-screen. 

[Narrator] With more than 70 disciplines, allied health professionals offer a range of diagnostic, preventative, and hands-on therapies and clinical support. As a vital part of healthcare teams, they improve lives across the province every day. For Katie and many others, the decision to move and the reception within British Columbia has been positive. 

[Katie] There are some very big differences with being a social worker. We are more involved in certain things, like with a guardianship case. We would be the ones investigating, and that’s not usually the case. So we get to see first on what’s happening with our patient. I feel like my work finally means something. I feel like I’m the one that’s making, you know, a bigger impact, and they’remaking a bigger impact on me. 

[Describer] Connect with a Health Recruitment Specialist. 

B.C. news for social workers

Province supports allied health workforce, improves patient care

The Province continues to put people first by launching the new Allied Health Strategic Plan (AHSP), which focuses on recruitment, retention, training and redesigning of the allied health workforce, to ensure people have access to the health-care providers they need.

Learn more about allied health workforce improveing patient care

Social work oversight engagement report released

A social work oversight engagement report provides an understanding of the diverse range of needs, perspectives and opinions surrounding social work oversight gathered during an extensive public consultation.

Learn more about the release of the social work oversight engagement report

Explore careers with B.C.’s public health employers

British Columbia’s health authorities offer outstanding and diverse opportunities, to not only build your career, but to forge your own lifestyle.

Explore job opportunities today