Set amidst the lush greenery of well-manicured lawns with a view of the mountains SWTRC is considered a home away from home for many students, staff and clients/customers. Students and other stakeholders enjoy the pristine surroundings and cool breeze that blows across the courtyard.
The Centre’s facilities include three (3) spacious air-conditioned classrooms, a computer lab, residential accommodations for students and a concessionaire canteen.
The Social Work Training and Research Centre was established in 1962 to be an innovator of training programmes for Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region to meet the social needs of populations in emerging independent nations. Originally part of the University’s Extra-Mural Department, and subsequently the School of Continuing Studies, the SWTRC bridges the education and training gap between community-based para-professional social workers and professional social workers by designing and implementing programmes and progression routes, both academic and professional. SWTRC undertakes research activities primarily in the fields of social work, youth work and youth development, and in community development. SWTRC is in the forefront of development and support of professional organisations in social work and youth work, notably the Association of Caribbean Social Work Educators (ACSWE), Jamaica Association of Social Workers (JASW) and the CARICOM Commission on Youth, and in the production the Caribbean Journal of Social Work. In all aspects of its work the SWTRC collaborates with partners on the sister campuses, governments and community-based agencies
