Be there when your community needs you most

With Northern College's two-year Social Service Worker diploma, you’ll graduate ready to help vulnerable individuals, families, and communities as they cope with – and work through – some of life’s most stressful events.

Focused on collaboration and teamwork, the evidence-based curriculum reveals the complex influences that affect human development and behaviour. It also provides you with the tools you’ll need to make a difference.

You’ll master conflict management, develop skills to intervene in a crisis, and gradually develop holistic and culturally-sensitive healing plans that will help chart a new course for those in your care.

Along the way, you’ll put theory into practice thanks to a series of clinical labs and a 15-week placement with a variety of social services agencies. It all adds up to a rewarding journey of self-awareness and professional growth.

Social Service Workers focus on promoting equality and addressing disadvantages that people face on the basis of race, disability, gender or age. 

They use their knowledge of human behaviour and development, communication, interviewing and counselling skills, to work with groups and/or communities to help them become more caring and capable of supporting their communities.

This program prepares students to work with people who are experiencing stressful events in their lives from an individual, family and community perspective. 

Students will learn how to intervene in crisis situations and will develop skills needed to assist individual clients, groups, families and communities to better meet their challenges and enhance their social functioning. 

Clinical practice labs and field placements provide a milieu where students are able to apply theory into practice through interviewing, case assessment and planning. 

Students must be able to apply skills, such as teamwork and group work outside of class. They may also be required to seek feedback from agency professionals for lab work and video assignments.

Northern College values lifelong learning in an effort to maintain the current competencies outlined by the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. 

The College assists learners in developing competent skills, attitudes and an interest in the social service profession egalitarian and supportive relationships with professors and facilitators facilitate adult learning and development.

• Academic/Official Transcripts
• Language Proficiency test scores
• Passport or Visa Documents
• Official translations of documents in a language other than English

• Proof of Senior High School Diploma/Certificate

Northern College requires all students to have their own PC laptop computer. The College’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program is mandatory for all students.

CO-OP Work Permit is mandatory for this program to participate in unpaid program placements.

Computer proficiency in Microsoft Office (word processing), web search engines and e-mail systems.