中英双语新闻——143 Ups and downs of social workers

 　　Li Siting, 25, has visited an elderly hospital patient for two weeks to try to persuade him to agree to surgery for lung cancer.

 
　　25岁的李思婷（音译）近两周经常去医院看望一位住院的老人，并试着说服他接受肺癌手术。
 
　　She’s not a relative but a social worker in Nanshan Hospital in Shenzhen. Her job is to assist doctors to communicate with patients and their relatives.
 
　　她并非老人的家属，而是深圳南山医院的一名社工。她的工作是协助医生与病人及其家属沟通。
 
　　Li, who graduated from Shenzhen University, has worked in the hospital for two years.
 
　　毕业于深圳大学的李思婷已在这家医院工作两年时间了。
 
　　“Some patients become very afraid when diagnosed with cancer, and their family members did not know what to do,” she explained. “I help to rebuild their self-confidence.”
 
　　“有些患者在被确诊为癌症时非常恐慌，他们的家属也不知该怎么办。”她解释道，“我会帮助他们重拾自信。”
 
　　Recently, there has been a boost in social work applicants 1.
 
　　近来，社工申请人数急剧增长。
 
　　According to statistics from the recruitment website of social workers in Beijing in April, 460,000 candidates competed for this year’s 1,000 positions - much higher than the 13:1 civil servant recruitment ratio.
 
　　据北京社工招聘网站统计，4月份有46万申请者竞聘今年的1000个岗位，比公务员13:1的招录比例还要高出许多。
 
　　The surge was caused by a low entry threshold. Any local person in Beijing with a junior college degree or above and any non-local with a college degree could apply this year.
 
　　申请人数的激增源于较低的门槛。今年，大专以上学历的北京市民或持有大学本科学历的非京籍人士都可以进行申请。
 
　　The possibility of getting a Beijing hukou in two years appeals to students. Grassroot work experience can also help them apply to be civil servants.
 
　　工作两年便有可能拿到北京户口，这对于学生来说颇具吸引力。基层工作经验也对他们报考公务员十分有利。
 
　　It might be surprising to learn that Shenzhen, the first mainland city to have a social worker system, is facing a decline in social work candidates.
 
　　然而令人惊讶的是，作为内地首个建立了社工体系的城市，深圳却面临着社工申请人数下滑的局面。
 
　　In 2008, Shenzhen attracted 3,961 applicants, but that number gradually decreased to 2,548 in 2010.
 
　　2008年，深圳市共吸引了3961位社工申请者，但到了2010年，该数字逐渐减少至2548人。
 
　　A survey by the Shenzhen Social Workers Association last year showed that 90 percent of Shenzhen’s social workers held a bachelor’s degree.
 
　　深圳社工协会去年的一项调查显示，90%的深圳社工具有大学本科学位。
 
　　But 28.7 percent of them quit within a year because of poor pay and disappointing career prospects 2
 
　　但由于工资较低以及不佳的职业前景，其中有28.7%的人在一年内就辞职了。
 
　　Huang Yuanhua, 26, worked as a social worker in Ailian community in Longgang district in Shenzhen for three years. Her monthly salary of 3,000 yuan barely covered living expenses.
 
　　26岁的黄元华（音译）在深圳龙岗区爱联社区做了三年的社工。她每月3000元的收入几乎不够支付日常生活开销。
 
　　“We social workers are like children without a mother. We couldn’t get our pay on time and there are no assessment 3 standards, let alone promotion 4.” Overtime 5 and stress are another burden.
 
　　“我们社工就像没妈的孩子，薪水不按时支付，没有考核标准，更别提升职机会了。”此外，加班和工作压力也是不小的负累。
 
　　“I had to deal with trivial things like a woman quarreling with her son over their dinner menu. Moms asked me to look after their children on weekends,” she said.
 
　　“我需要处理各种琐事，比如母子二人因晚饭吃什么而吵架，或是妈妈们叫我周末帮忙带孩子等等。”她说。
 
　　Social workers regularly take care of senior citizens and organize events for teenagers. Many events are at weekends, but often they get no extra pay.
 
　　社工通常要照看老人，组织青少年活动。大多数活动都在周末举办，但他们常常没有加班费。
 
　　However, some social workers think they’ve learned a lot.
 
　　尽管如此，很多社工仍觉得自己收获颇丰。
 
　　“I become more patient and careful, and good at communicating,” said Huang, who now works as a marketing 6 manager in IT.
 
　　“我变得更加细致耐心，而且善于沟通。”黄元华说，她现在IT行业担任市场经理。
 
　　Qualified 7 social workers are valued. Shenzhen plans to build 100 community service centers and to create 500 new jobs for social workers.
 
　　称职的社工得到了应有的重视，深圳目前计划建立100个社区服务中心，为社工创造500个新就业机会。
 
　　According to Luo Bing of the Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, the city will have 6,000 social workers serving communities, enterprises and social institutions.
 
　　来自深圳市民事局的骆冰表示，该市将为社区、企业和社会机构配备6000名社工服务人员。
 
　　“The brain drain has become serious, and social workers’ conditions should be improved,” Luo said.
 
　　“人才流失问题已经很严峻，社工们的工作条件有待改善。”骆冰说。
 
　　To retain talent, they intend to enhance the salary of social worker to 4,700 yuan per month from May. Senior social workers could earn 8,000 yuan.
 
　　为留住人才，今年5月，他们准备将社工的月工资提高至4700元。高级社工月工资可达8000元。
 
　　“We’re looking at a set of assessment standards for social workers and encourage them to take professional examinations to win promotion.”
 
　　“我们正在寻求一套社工考核标准，鼓励他们参加专业考试以获得晋升机会。”