The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) plans to launch the full operation of its revitalized DSWD Academy in the first quarter of 2025.

This was announced by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian during a press conference on Monday (August 19) at the agency’s New Press Center in Quezon City.

The DSWD Academy is a learning facility envisioned to become a center of excellence for community development and social work. It aims to provide opportunities for the development of the competencies of social workers and paraprofessionals to meet the ever-changing trends in social work practice.

The Department is currently offering certificate courses to ensure the continuous capacity building and training of social workers and development practitioners, including those in local government units (LGUs).

“We have to set the standards para masigurado natin na ang standards ng pag-deliver ng serbisyo pantay-pantay no matter where you are. So yun ang mga ginagawa namin to capacitate our local government units (LGUs) to deliver standardized, world-class, social work nationwide,” Secretary Gatchalian told reporters.

The courses being offered by the DSWD include paralegal training, Gender-Responsive Case Management (GRCM), training for house parents, and mainstreaming children’s rights, among others.

“We will run certificate programs for the learning ng mga social workers in DSWD, social workers in the private sector, social welfare assistance (SWA), both in government and in the private sector,” Secretary Gatchalian emphasized.

Secretary Gatchalian said the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) has affirmed that the courses offered by the DSWD Academy will be counted as part of the required continuing learning credits of the participants.

“So bukod sa na-train na namin sila, yun na rin yung continuing learning na mga rehistrado nating social workers,” the DSWD Secretary said.#