Career Transitions: From considering a career with the police to children's social worker

Senior social worker Faisa Abdirahman initially had her sights set on entering the police after gaining a BSC in criminology. However, she pivoted to social work after learning that looked after children were at more risk of being criminalised in the criminal justice system compared to those that are not care experienced. In this episode of the Social Work Community Podcast with senior careers editor Kirsty Ayakwah, she explains why her desire to support children and young people, earlier on in that journey resulted in her pivoting away from a career in the police force into social work.Read the transcript of the interview here.You can listen to our previous episodes in the Career Transitions Series.*According to 2022 data from the Office of National Statistics, more than half (52%) of looked-after children born in the academic year ending 1994 who attended school in England had a criminal conviction by the age of 24 years compared with 13% of children who had not been in care. We’ll leave more details about the ONS statistics in the show notes. The Social Work Community podcast is where social workers come to discuss the key issues affecting their profession. Whether you are a student or an experienced social worker - whether you are frontline or management, this podcast is for you. You will hear direct from social workers in your community about their successes and their challenges.Follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and join the Social Work Community for all things social work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.