“No matter what age you are. Whether you are younger or older, if you love helping people, I would definitely go for it”

Becoming a social worker wasn’t something Marbeth Shaw had ever properly considered. For 27 years she had worked as a cabin crew staff member and hadn’t given anything else much thought.

But just before the Covid 19 pandemic, at 47 years-old, she was made redundant and had to look at her options for the future.

She explained: “At the airline we always asked each other what we would do if we didn’t do this, but nobody ever had a proper answer. When I was made redundant, I began looking at jobs, and everything I was interested in was related to social work.”

Something that helped Marbeth realise her interest in social work open days at different universities with her daughter, who was looking for her own university courses.

Marbeth said: “When we went to an open day, my daughter didn’t fully know what she wanted to do, but by the time she left the event she knew that she wanted to do social work, and even I left the open day with the thought that it could be something good for me”.

She began looking online at social work courses and jobs, which just confirmed to her that this is what she wanted to do next.

She explained: “When I looked at the criteria, I didn’t have the specific qualifications that were needed, so I decided to do the Social Work degree. My three children were all in university at the time, so I thought that there was no reason I couldn’t go and study along with them”.

Although Marbeth had A-levels, she had to complete an access course before she could begin the social work degree. As she was made redundant towards the end of September, courses had already begun, and she received a lot of refusals for the access course.

“I just kept getting refused, but then I contacted NRC Ulster University in Coleraine and the course director asked me to come in the following week. I assumed it was for a chat, but he offered me a place on the access course straight away, five weeks behind everyone else. Then that was me, I was on a path to become a social worker” she said.

Following the access course at Northern Regional College, Marbeth went on to complete her degree at Magee College. She feels that her age helped her be more prepared for what to expect as a social worker, as she knew she couldn’t walk into a job with her eyes closed.

She said: “I had researched it. I knew that if I was going to give this four years, then I needed to be prepared and I spoke to social workers about what it was really like”.

While her previous professional career seems like a completely different pathway into social work than most, Marbeth feels that she was actually able to bring a lot from the airline industry to help her.

Speaking about this, she explained: “While there’s a big emphasis on the fun side of the airline industry, there is actually a lot in my role now that I experienced in the airline, especially when it comes to safeguarding.

“There were very difficult things that we had to deal with. My experience of responding to safeguarding considerations and reporting requirements was useful when moving into social work. When I speak to any of my old colleagues from the airline, I describe it as flying but in a different domain.”

Marbeth believes that people of all ages can bring different life experiences to the role that will help certain people.

She said: “I do bring my life experiences into my work every single day. But, so does my daughter. She’s in her second year of a social work degree and she has had different experiences than I have. So, even though she is only 20, she can relate to people in ways that perhaps I can’t and vice versa. I think whether you are older or younger, everyone has something from their life that they will bring into the job”.

It’s not just her work in cabin crew that Marbeth brought with her on her new career journey, but also her experience of being a mother. Having raised three children, ages 20, 23 and 24, she has developed resilience in her daily life.

“Social work is a very nurturing role. Any of the decisions that you make for your own children, the same process of thought goes for these children that you are supporting along the way” said Marbeth.

“I do think about the children and young people on my day off. I think of new ideas to help them, they are honestly always in your head. They appreciate that too, knowing that you think about them even when you’re not actually there. That helps to build a genuine relationship”.

Whilst she went onto the course with an open mind as to where she would end up, she always knew she wanted to work with teenagers. Currently, Marbeth is a Residential Social Worker working with children between the ages of 11 and 17.

She said: “For many reasons, these children can’t live at home with their parents, so the main thing is to support them in their everyday life. We look after their emotional and educational needs, along with anything else they might need to flourish”.

Marbeth explained relationship building is essential to her work, saying: “It is the basis of everything. If you don’t have a good relationship with the children, then you don’t have anything.

“A lot of the time in residential care is spent getting to know the children and their needs. Most residential social workers will have a key worker role for a particular child.

“Engaging with families is an important part of social work. The ultimate goal in residential care is that the child will be able to return to living safely with their parents.”

Marbeth has some advice for people returning to education.

She stressed the importance of listening to the advice of the lecturers or social workers while on placements. She believes talking and listening to other social workers is one of the best ways to be prepared.

She said: “If you don’t know a social worker, then ring somewhere and ask if anybody would be able to speak to you. They’re very busy people but someone will always have time to get back to you and help.

The most important thing that Marbeth wants people to know is that social work is a great career option.

“No matter what age you are. Whether you are younger or older, if you love helping people, I would definitely go for it.”

Feeling inspired? For more information on how you can train to be a social worker in Northern Ireland check out our Interested in becoming a social worker? page.