New social work specialists complete full cycle of training in social work

Following the completion of the last phase of 45-day long training, the new social work specialists were awarded certificates of completion confirming their professional development in social work. The certificates were issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population and the UN in Turkmenistan.

The certificates awarding ceremony was held in a hybrid format with social work specialists from velayats and their senior management joining online from the regional administrative centers and social work specialists from the city of Ashgabat and representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population of Turkmenistan gathering in person. Representatives of the participating UN agencies and national trainers also joined the ceremony online.

45 social work specialists contracted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Turkmenistan within the framework of the Joint Programme and deployed to 20 pilot etraps across the country were trained by national trainers, who in turn underwent online training by the Bulgarian Social Activities and Practice Institute and travelled to all regions of the country to hold on site trainings for new social work specialists.

The series of trainings were provided over a span of 8 months from November 2020 to July 2021, comprising foundational, advanced, and specialized training in social work. The new social work specialists learned the social work theory and practice and applied them in the field in between the rounds of trainings. In addition, they were provided a monthly supervision by international experts in social services.

In the last specialized training in social work, participants mostly focused on the specific aspects of social work that prepared them to participate in piloting of a new model of community-based social services for different groups of vulnerable populations. The specialized training covered   topics such as family group conference, practices of providing support in crisis situations, collaboration in social services for integration and social inclusion of target groups, monitoring of changes in lives of beneficiaries and many others.

The Joint Programme “Improving the system of social protection through the introduction of inclusive quality community-based social services”, funded by the Joint SDG Fund, is being implemented by the partnering UN agencies, namely, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, and UNODC and Government of Turkmenistan. The Joint Programme aims to introduce a new model of social services at the community level accompanied by relative legislative reviews and capacity building of national social service workforce. The lead national partner is the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Turkmenistan and the lead UN agency is UNICEF. Other key national partners include the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, and Ministry of Finance and Economy.

Implementation period: 2020-2022.