Universities in South Africa produce only 300 social workers per year, Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya said on Monday.
"Research has indicated that to effectively implement the Children's Act and provide efficient and caring services to children, we need to have at least 16 000 social workers," said Skweyiya.
He was speaking at the International Schools of Social Work Congress at the Durban International Convention Centre.
The congress heard that South Africa was facing a critical shortage of social service professionals, who had left the country due to high demand for their skills overseas.
"Social work has been declared a scarce skill in South Africa."
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The minister said government could not resolve the social challenges alone and needed institutions to come on board.
To this end, Skweyiya said, the department would be recruiting and training other people to complement social workers - including child and youth care workers and auxiliary social workers. - Sapa
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