Classes at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Academy are about to kick-off and the agency is enjoining all social workers and paraprofessionals across the country to avail of the various training opportunities offered by the learning center.
The DSWD Academy recently unveiled the available training opportunities for Calendar Year 2025, providing information on courses that is being offered in the revitalized academy starting on Tuesday (March 11).
“Scheduled from March 11-15, a training on Data Quality Management Statistical Analytics is set to banner the first ever training program to be held in the newly-renovated academy,” Director Justin Caesar Anthony Batocabe of the DSWD Academy said on Monday (March 10).
Director Batocabe said the DSWD Academy will not only showcase better facilities as the courses resume, but also specialized training, capacity-building activities, and other learning development interventions that are fine-tuned to the evolving landscape of Social Work practice in the Philippines, ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific countries.
Over the years, the agency gradually increased its curriculum. From 6 sets of training back in 2022 following the pandemic, to 42 in 2024, and 43 courses scheduled for 2025.
Other trainings that will kick off from March to October will revolve on case management, houseparents’ capacity building; pre-marriage counseling; disaster response; capability building on child protection; and training on anticipatory actions.
“More courses means more opportunities for our social workers to attain Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units. This is something that Secretary Rex Gatchalian really pushed for — for us to collaborate more closely with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to add weight into our offered courses, and ensure it becomes of immense help to the continuous professional development of our registered social workers and paraprofessionals,” Director Batocabe explained.
Established in 1970, the DSWD Academy was formerly known as the Social Welfare and Development Center in the Asia and the Pacific (SWADCAP), and has since provided capability building opportunities to social workers and paraprofessionals in the country.
“Under the leadership of Secretary Gatchalian, the agency has prioritized the improvement of the DSWD Academy and its competency as a center for learning — leading to the revitalized facilities and significant enhancements of the learning institution,” Director Batocabe said.
To raise awareness among target participants, Director Batocable pointed out that its official facebook page provided information on qualified individuals who might be interested to study in the academy.
“To qualify for the Academy’s courses, the learner must be affiliated with any local government unit (LGU), national government agency (NGA), or non-government organization (NGO) that are implementing social welfare and development programs and services,” Director Batocabe said.
Priority participants are from targeted LGUs identified as having a significant need for a specific training, backed by various assessments led by the Department.
“The agency will also prioritize interested participants whose LGUs have not yet been included on the past training initiatives of the learning institution,” Director Batocabe said.
For more information and queries about the DSWD Academy, the public may send an email to academy@dswd.gov.ph or through +632 8931-8101 to 07 local 403-405 or +632 8951-2805 (Telefax). (LSJ)