Compatibility of Social Work Curriculum with Job Market Requirements: An Analysis of Gaps and Synergies in the Course Contents of Community Development

Community development is one of the widely practiced methods of social work profession for provision of social welfare services in the Pakistan soon after its inception in 1947. Historically, community development services have been rendered through various government departments as well as NGOs in Pakistan. Till date, a huge population of Pakistan is unable to access essentials of life, that is why community development method is widely practiced here for fulfillment of unmet needs of communities. The current study sets out to assess the compatibility of course contents of community development in terms of multiple skills learned during BS/M. A social work education and what they lack to fulfil requirements of the job market. Qualitative research method was adopted to achieve study objectives. Using an interview protocol, community development practitioners with at least 2 years of experience were recruited for in-depth interview. The responses were recorded using pen and paper method and the data was analyzed using thematic analysis technique. The findings revealed that certain basic skills such as communication, community mobilization and cultural competence are part of social work curriculum. However, other necessary skills such as project management, community-based conflict resolution, organizational development tool, identification of community resources and need assessment, asset mapping and data collection were not directly part of the curriculum and social work graduate faced hurdles in job hunting and sustaining them. Furthermore, dispensation of multiple roles and responsibilities such as community capacity building, advocacy and lobbying are expected from the community development practitioners in the job market which requires a specialized set of skills which social work graduates lack. The study concludes that curriculum of community development should be revised and modified in line with job market requirements. The study findings would be useful for social work academia and HEC curriculum revision committee for revising course contents of community development according to job market requirements.