Social work

Social work training is closely related to the social work study program. Training provides important skills for students. Social work training for full-time students has been organized since 1999 at Vytautas Magnus University. Valuable experience in the organization and implementation of students' training has been gained during these years.
This article briefly describes a place of social work training in the study program and its links with theoretical subjects and gives a general overview of 6-year long experience of the training program organization for full-time students. Program participants are introduced through their responsibilities, involvement in the training process and their interrelations. On the grounds of accumulated experience, the author provides insights into the causes of successful or unsuccessful implementation of the training program in a particular organization. The impact of organizational culture, division of responsibilities, attitude towards students, and communication on the students' training process is analyzed. The article seeks to identify the factors that underlie successful long-term cooperation between the University and some organizations and withdrawal of other organizations from the training process.
Experience in the training organization reveals that vertical and horizontal communication inside an organization has a direct influence on implementation of social work training. Many training places lack such communication. Students face formal and informal organizational systems while undergoing social work training. To ensure successful implementation of the training process it is essential to accommodate expectations of participants of the training process and division of responsibilities.