Social Work Associate Professionals: Jobs in Demand in Europe (2025)
Social Work Associate Professionals is an official occupation group (ISCO-08 code 3412) used by the International Labour Organization and Eurostat.
- Community development worker
- Community service worker
- Crisis intervention worker
- Disability services worker
- Family services worker
- Life skills instructor
- Mental health support worker
- Welfare support worker
- Women's shelter supervisor
- Youth services worker
6European countries report a shortage (EURES 2025)
7countries report a surplus
2,188open job ads right now in Germany and Sweden
3412ISCO-08 occupation code
Short answerIn the 2025 EURES report on labour shortages, 6 European countries reported a shortage of social work associate professionals: Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Italy and Netherlands. 7 reported a surplus: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Finland, France, Netherlands and Portugal. Belgium and Netherlands appear in both lists, which usually means shortages in some regions and surpluses in others.
Latest social work associate professionals job ads
Real vacancies from the official public employment services, updated daily. Job titles are translated into English automatically; the full ad opens on the official site in German or Swedish (your browser's translate button turns it into English).
Germany
1,740 open ads- Social care assistant
German title: Sozialassistent
PERSO PLANKONTOR Nord GmbH · Wildeshausen · Posted 2026-10-16 - Social care assistant
German title: Sozialassistent
ARWA Personaldienstleistungen GmbH · Dessau-Roßlau · Posted 2026-10-16 - Social care assistant
German title: Sozialassistent
PERSO PLANKONTOR Nord GmbH · Wilhelmshaven · Posted 2026-10-14 - Social care assistant
German title: Sozialassistent
PERSO PLANKONTOR Nord GmbH · Westerkappeln · Posted 2026-10-12 - Social care assistant
German title: Sozialassistent
PERSO PLANKONTOR Nord GmbH · Dinklage · Posted 2026-10-12 - Social care assistant
German title: Sozialassistent
PERSO PLANKONTOR Nord GmbH · Wagenfeld · Posted 2026-10-12
Source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit (German Federal Employment Agency). Ads are written by employers; Placeivo does not check them. See all ads in Germany
Sweden
448 open ads- Default Template
Swedish title: Standardmall
Orust kommun · Orust · Posted 2026-10-18 - Social- treatment educator to Skogsgläntan
Swedish title: Social- behandlingspedagog till Skogsgläntan
Östersunds kommun · Östersund · Posted 2026-10-17 - Treatment staff Knight's nose, New body
Swedish title: Behandlingspersonal Riddarnäset, Nykroppa
Forshaga kommun · Filipstad · Posted 2026-10-16 - Junior Project Manager (Program Manager) for Rookie Startups Summer Program
Swedish title: Juniora Projektledare (Programansvarig) för Rookie Startups sommarprogram
Rookie Startups AB · Stockholm · Posted 2026-10-16 - Assistance Administrator
Swedish title: Biståndshandläggare
Åre kommun · Åre · Posted 2026-10-16 - Therapist for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Swedish title: Terapeut till barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin
REGION GÄVLEBORG · Bollnäs · Posted 2026-10-16
Source: Arbetsförmedlingen (Swedish Public Employment Service). Ads are written by employers; Placeivo does not check them. See all ads in Sweden
Where social work associate professionals are needed in Europe
| Country | EURES 2025 | Average gross pay, all technicians and associate professionals (2022) | 1-bed rent in the capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | Shortage | €966 a month | Sofia: €650 |
| Estonia | Shortage | €1,902 a month | Tallinn: €720 |
| Germany | Shortage | €3,856 a month | Berlin: €1,350 |
| Italy | Shortage | €3,001 a month * | Rome: €1,300 |
| Belgium | Shortage and surplus | €4,368 a month * | Brussels: €1,150 |
| Netherlands | Shortage and surplus | €3,769 a month | Not yet verified |
| Austria | Surplus | €3,816 a month * | Vienna: €1,250 |
| Czechia | Surplus | €1,724 a month | Prague: €1,250 |
| Finland | Surplus | €3,684 a month * | Helsinki: €1,150 |
| France | Surplus | €2,918 a month * | Paris: €1,550 |
| Portugal | Surplus | €1,723 a month * | Lisbon: €1,400 |
Pay: Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey 2022, mean gross monthly earnings of all technicians and associate professionals in each country, in euros. This is the average for the whole occupation group, not for social work associate professionals alone, and before tax. * Firms with 10 or more employees only. Rent: Eurostat, good-quality 1-bedroom flat in the capital, 2025.
What social work associate professionals do
Social work associate professionals administer and implement social assistance programmes and community services and assist clients to deal with personal and social problems.
Typical tasks
- Collecting information relevant to clients’ needs and assessing their relevant skills, strengths and deficits
- Helping persons with disabilities or the elderly to obtain services and to improve their ability to function in society
- Assisting clients to identify options and develop plans of action while providing necessary support and assistance
- Assisting clients to identify and access community resources including legal, medical and financial assistance, housing, employment, transportation, assistance with moves, day care and other referral services
- Counselling clients living in group homes and half-way houses, supervising their activities and assisting in pre-release and release planning
- Participating in the selection and admission of clients to appropriate programmes
- Providing crisis intervention and emergency shelter services
- Implementing life skills workshops, substance abuse treatment programmes, behaviour management programmes, youth services programmes and other community and social service programmes under the supervision of social work or health care professionals
- Assisting in evaluating the effectiveness of interventions and programmes by monitoring and reporting on clients' progress
- Maintaining contact with other social service agencies, schools and health care providers involved with clients to provide information and obtain feedback on clients' overall situation and progress
Finding social work associate professionals jobs in Europe
- EURES is the official job portal of the EU public employment services. The search above looks for "Youth services worker".
- Some jobs are regulated professions: before you can work, your qualification may need to be recognised in the new country.
- If you are not an EU/EEA citizen you will usually need a work permit or a visa such as the EU Blue Card. Check the rules of the country's immigration authority.
Cost of living where the jobs are
Take-home pay needed to rent a good 1-bedroom flat in the capitals of countries reporting a shortage:
About this data
- Shortage and surplus: European Labour Authority, EURES Report on labour shortages and surpluses 2025, annex table 21 (published 2026). Each country's public employment service reports which occupations it finds hard to fill or in oversupply. Countries not listed did not report this occupation as either.
- Definition, tasks and job titles: International Labour Organization, ISCO-08 structure and definitions.
- Pay: Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022 (earn_ses22_48), by occupation group.
- Job ads: Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Germany) and Arbetsförmedlingen (Sweden), refreshed about once a day.