How to apply
Registrations for our first round of recruitment for the 2025 programme will close on Tuesday 26 November.
Complete your registration form by then to avoid disappointment.
Our second round will open in early 2025 with only limited locations available.
If you have already registered, we recommend completing your application by Tuesday 3 December, when we will close our application system until the second round in the new year.
Our application process tests your potential to thrive on the programme, and as a social worker in mental health. We do this by reviewing your skills and experience against our attributes.
1. Check your eligibility
What: Please use our eligibility checker and read the full eligibility details to make sure you can apply.
There are various requirements relating to the programme’s academic studies, placements in mental health teams, and funding.
Review our full eligibility details listed here
2. Register your details
Our first round of recruitment for the 2025 programme will close for registrations on Tuesday 26 November. Complete your registration form by then to avoid disappointment.
What: A short registration form checking your eligibility, finding out where you are interested in training, and gathering some equal opportunities data.
Once you’ve registered, you’ll be sent an email inviting you to log-in to our online applicant portal and complete the rest of the application process.
Timings: This should only take five minutes to complete.
3. Take a situational judgement test
What: A multiple-choice test with potential situations you could face as a mental health social worker. You will need to pass this test before moving on to the next stage of the application process.
Timings: You will have one week to complete this.
Results: Your results will be emailed to you within 24 hours.
4. Complete your online application form
If you have already registered, we recommend completing your application by Tuesday 3 December, when we will close our application system until the second round of recruitment in 2025.
What: Four written and two video questions, submitted through our online applicant portal. Your answers will need to demonstrate:
- Your commitment to Think Ahead’s goals and values.
- That you have the attributes needed to thrive on the programme and in the role itself. Read the “what we’re looking for” webpage for more.
Timings: You will have one week to complete this.
Results: You’ll find out the outcome of your application within five weeks.
5. Attend an online assessment day
What: You’ll be interviewed and take part in activities relating to the role, including group exercises and a role play. You’ll be assessed against our attributes by professionals and people with lived experience of mental health services.
Our recruitment team will arrange a briefing call with you before this to help you prepare for the day.
Results: You’ll hear the outcome of your assessment day within one week.
6. Agree a training placement
What: We’ll work with you to find a training placement that’s right for you.
We partner with NHS trusts and local authorities across England to run our training placements and do our best to match people to their preferred locations.
If we cannot find a suitable placement, we’ll give you the option to defer your place to the following year.
Find out more in our guide on guide on how we find a placement that is right for you.
Timings: Depending on your circumstances and placement availability, this will be agreed between December and May.
7. Complete your suitability checks
What: As a social worker you will be working with vulnerable people and several checks are required before your training and sometimes even before we can match you to placement.
- Two professional references. Academic references will be accepted if necessary.
- Proof of your academic achievements. Copies of certificates are needed. Please apply for replacement certificates/ENIC statement of comparability as soon as possible.
- Proof of your right to work in the UK. Details of accepted documentation can be found here.
- An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. We will apply for this on your behalf. Details of the documentation needed can be found here.
- Completion of a Declaration of Suitability for Social Work – asking about your health, potential conflicts of interest with our training partners (such as the use of services by you or someone close to you) and criminal convictions or disciplinary issues.
- An occupational health assessment. This will help us to understand any additional support or reasonable adjustments you might need.
Timings: This can be a time-consuming process and varies by person. Please ensure you are prepared with the necessary paperwork.
Please note: Full details of these requirements will be available on our online programme portal, accessible once you have accepted a placement.
8. Accept your offer
What: You will be sent an offer to start the programme and a contract to sign confirming your place.
Timings: This varies person to person and is dependent on the timescales of the previous stages. We expect our applicants to have their contract no later than June, ahead of the programme start in July.
** Guidance notes on applying with us **
You’ll find more tips and information in our “what we’re looking for” page but it’s worth bearing these pointers in mind:
Research the job
- As well as helping you decide if this is the right job for you, it’s useful preparation for the assessment day.
- Start with our about mental health social work page and stories page for insights from previous trainees and people with lived experience of mental health needs.
- Look at Social Work England’s Professional Standards, which all social workers are expected to uphold.
- The British Association of Social Work has lots of information about what social workers do.
Apply as early as you can
- Our recruitment process is run on a rolling basis. This means that instead of one set of deadlines, we close applications by area, as and when training placements are filled.
- We always advise people to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment and have the best chance of securing a suitable training placement.
Consider how your skills and experience match our attributes
- You need to demonstrate how you meet our attributes throughout the application process.
- Use different examples to illustrate the attributes. You can draw from paid work and voluntary experience, as well as your academic and personal life.
- We’re interested in things you have done yourself, and if you were part of a team, the personal contribution you made. You should be able to use “I” rather than “we” when describing what was done and achieved.