Professional Development Needs of Social Workers in Government Agencies in Niger State

Continuous professional development is essential for maintaining competent and ethically grounded social work practice, particularly in rapidly changing policy and social environments. This study assesses the professional development needs of social workers employed in government welfare agencies in Niger State, North Central Nigeria, with focus on agencies in Minna and Kontagora local government areas. A mixed-method design is adopted, with 70 social workers and welfare managers participating through structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis are employed in data interpretation. The study finds that the majority of social workers in the sampled agencies have not accessed formal professional development in the preceding three years, with funding limitations, unsupportive management culture, and absence of in-service training programmes identified as primary barriers. Workers express strong demand for training in trauma-informed practice, case documentation, supervision skills, and community development facilitation. The study also identifies low morale linked to salary arrears and poor working conditions as factors undermining investment in professional growth. Recommendations include establishing a professional development fund within the Niger State social welfare budget, developing structured in-service training calendars for all welfare agency social workers, and creating peer learning networks across local government areas to facilitate low-cost professional knowledge exchange. Keywords: professional development, social workers, government agencies, Niger State, workforce capacity