A social worker teaches a resident how to use an information system. CHENG HONG / FOR CHINA DAILY Low pay was blamed as the reason why about 50 percent of social workers gave up their jobs last year, triggering plans to improve the situation, said the Beijing Social Work Committee.
It said relevant policies and documents will be released soon to address the issue.
Last year, the Beijing Social Work Committee launched pilot projects within 600 social communities. The committee recruited 1,984 graduates to serve as social workers on those pilot projects. Of them, around one-third held either a master's or doctoral degree.
However, statistics suggest fewer than 1,000 of the almost 2,000 people employed to work in the pilot programs were still working as social workers one year later.
The Beijing Human Resource and Social Security Bureau added that more than 12,000 people registered to take a recruitment examination for 3,000 social worker positions in May, but only around 7,000 ended up taking the exam.
Both the loss of so many social workers and the lack of interest among potential replacements are being blamed on poor pay.
"Graduate social workers can't afford their rent and transport costs," said Chen Yan, secretary of the Xicheng District Social Work Committee.
A master's degree holder surnamed Zhao said she decided to become a social worker last year because the job would entitle her to become a permanent Beijing resident.
But she said she was not expecting to have to pay her 750-yuan rent out of a paltry 1,150-yuan monthly income.
"I had earlier moved out of my former accommodation, which I rented for 1,200 yuan," said Zhao, who has signed a three-year contract to serve as a social worker. "Now, I need to take another part-time job to cover all my expenses."
Another former social worker in Haidian district, surnamed Lin, quit his job earlier this year after working for less than six months.
He said his salary was only around 1,000 yuan a month and did not meet the expectations of his girlfriend.
"Even residents in the community doubted my choice," said Lin, who has since found a job in Zhongguancun.
But at a time when so many trained social workers are giving up their jobs because of poor pay and so few students are showing interest in the work, public data insists there is a strong demand for even more social workers, with 10,000 needed in Beijing.
According to staff at the Beijing Social Work Committee, the new policy will not clarify the specific growth rate of workers' salaries, but it will provide a general guideline. Social communities in different districts will be free to make their own salary adjustments based on their situations.
