Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian said on Thursday (July 20) that revitalizing the DSWD Academy, a learning facility focused on social work and development, aims to further expand the delivery of social protection in the country.

In an interview with Katrina Domingo of ANC, Secretary Gatchalian emphasized the importance of having a learning facility that fosters continuing specialized training for social workers and social welfare assistants.

“We are reviving the development academy or this DSWD academy which is an existing facility that’s been around since 1959, and was envisioned to become a center of excellence in social work as well as community work,” Secretary Gatchalian pointed out.

The DSWD chief also cited the lack of social workers and community development workers as a driving force of the Department to continue reviving its existing Social Welfare and Development Center for Asia and the Pacific (SWADCAP) situated in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

“Ang pagiging social worker ay laging last priority ng ating mga estudyante. So we are coming up with the DSWD Academy so we could capacity build social welfare assistants,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

(Being a social worker is the least priority of the students, thus, we are coming up with the DSWD academy so we could capacity build social welfare assistants.)

By rolling out the DSWD Academy, which will provide learning development interventions to both social workers and para-professionals or those practicing social work but are not registered social workers, Secretary Gatchalian is hopeful that “we could draw in more social workers so we could expand social protection.”

“Social welfare is not just about giving out ayuda. Social welfare is about expanding social protection to our most vulnerable sectors, but we can only do that if the country is capacitated with enough social workers, community development workers,” Secretary Gatchalian explained.

The DSWD chief also emphasized that capacitating non-social workers practicing social work “can assist in nation-building in terms of expanding social protection.”

The project is also supported by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. who, according to Secretary Gatchalian, already expressed commitment to allot funds for the reactivation of the SWADCAP.

The DSWD Academy is a renewed initiative of the DSWD to provide specialized training, and capacity-building activities to social workers and non-social workers to enable them to meet the ever-changing social work landscape. #