The Compass Jobs Fair, Birmingham returned last Monday.

We would like to thank all exhibitors, visitors, including this years' sponsors, Birmingham Children’s Trust and Solihull Council for making the event such a successful day.

More than 1671 social workers enrolled for the conference and exhibition, converging to explore career and employment opportunities with various local authorities and service providers from West Midlands and throughout the UK.

Exhibitors included sponsors, Birmingham Children's Trust and Solihull Council Children's Services as well as City of Wolverhampton Council , Coventry City Council , Derbyshire NHS Foundation Trust , Dudley Children's Services , Gloucestershire County Council (Adults') , Gloucestershire County Council (Children's) , Liverpool City Council , Only Social Care , Opus People Solutions , Powys County Council , Randox , Remedy Social Care , Richardson Care , Rochdale Council , Sandwell Council Adults' , Staffordshire County Council , Stoke-on-Trent , Warwickshire County Council , Worcestershire Children First and Worcestershire County Council .

Exhibitors spent the day networking and recruiting potential candidates for jobs.

Members of Birmingham Children’s Trust said: “We've had a great time at the COMPASS Jobs Fair in Birmingham! It's been great meeting potential candidates to discuss job opportunities and career progression.”

Speaking about the employers at the COMPASS Jobs Fair, one social worker said: “ It was really great being able to meet recruiters face to face.”

A social work student also mentioned how important it was “getting knowledge on potential future jobs”.

Other organisations and service providers included: BASW England , Caldecott Foundation , Cellmark , Jessica Kingsley Publishing , OurFamilyWizard , Social Work Coaching Hub , Social Work Today , Social Workers Union and The Mulberry Bush Organisation .

Visitors had the opportunity to attend the free Shared Futures in Social Work conference which ran alongside the event. This included a diverse range of seminars which explored key social work topics and trends, as well as social work cinema films and free legal sessions.

Event sponsors, Birmingham Children's Trust and Solihull Council, hosted sessions on their practice models. Dr Marie Kershaw, Clinical Psychologist & Head of Psychologically Informed Practice, discussed Birmingham Children's Trust's 'Connections Count' and how it supports their approach to direct work with children. Meanwhile, Mike Hayward, Principal Social Worker, spoke about Solihull's Needs-Led, Strengths-Focused practice framework.

Other seminars included thought-provoking topics such as "Media coverage of social work: how do we improve this" led by members of Social Workers Union.

Representatives from BASW England also hosted a workshop on ‘Promoting anti-racism in social work: The BASW England Black and Ethnic Minority Professional Symposium journey and values’ as well as ‘Homelessness and social work: Guidance for practice’.

Alongside the conference and exhibition, the event ran a free CPD Clinic with Carol Stewart, social work expert and trainer. Carol also held seminar workshops to help social workers complete their CPD.

Vicki Stewart, social worker and training consultant also ran Careers sessions to help social workers at different stages of their journey.

One social worker described the careers sessions as “amazing!”.

“It was great to gain first hand tips and advice on how to apply skills successfully to interviews.”

Commenting on the Compass Jobs Fair, a social work manager said “The Compass events are my favourite social work events. It’s a great feeling of community and warmth here and great to network with other like minded people”.

Other exhibitors including Richard Hamblett from Coventry City Council said: “It was great to meet so many Social Workers, both experienced and starting out their careers at Compass Jobs Fair today. Thank you to everybody who came to our session on relationship Social Work. It was a pleasure to speak with you all.”

The British Association of Social Workers also said: “It's been a busy day at our stand with Social Workers Union at the Compass Jobs fair in Birmingham!  Great to meet so many students, NQSWs & social workers from different areas of practice!  Lots of invigorating & helpful conversations!”

Other key dates for COMPASS Jobs Fair include:

The Social Work Show 7th October 2024
Book your free ticket.

Compass Jobs Fair, London, 25 November 2024 Register now.  

17 March 2025 Compass Jobs Fair, Birmingham
Book your free ticket .