사회복지사 노동시장의 미스매치와 전문성의 제약: 한국과 미국의 사회복지사 산업·교육·자격제도 비교

초록

This study conducted an occupational analysis of the social work labor market in Korea and compared it with that of the United States. Given that Korean social work was influenced by the early adoption of American social work education, this study attempted to identify mismatches in the Korean social work labor market by examining various aspects, including the industry, education, qualifications, and treatment of social workers, in comparison to the United States. The findings are as follows. First, the Korean social worker labor market is limited to charitable organizations and local government welfare administration. It has not evolved into a major profession in social service industries, such as hospitals, schools, mental health, correctional facilities, and rehabilitation facilities, as seen in the United States. Second, social work education tends to prioritize the interests of educational institutions over the needs of the social work industry. In contrast, In the United States, accredited master’s education programs prepare their students to receive job offers from various social industries, resulting in relatively high job status and treatment. However, in Korea, social work education operates without an accredited system, following a uniform curriculum characterized by excessive formalism. Third, the license system is a central factor contributing to the mismatch between the labor market and education. In the United States, licensure is a tiered system that certifies the level of professional competence in clinical practice. In Korea, the licensure system is essentially an extension of the social work curriculum, which only grants qualifications for entry into social work agencies. Therefore, this study suggests the following implications: (1) separation of the social work education system and the qualification system (abolition of the course work completion system for license and the introduction of accreditation), (2) implementation of different license systems based on varying job skills, accompanied by a renewal mechanism, (3) development of career paths to improve the quality of social services, and (4) institutional improvement to facilitate social workers’ entry into diverse social services industries, such as healthcare, rehabilitation, and mental health.

키워드