Despite initially aiming to be a teacher, Rory Mills decided to change direction and support young people in a different way – as a social worker.
Rory was required to gain experience working with young people before beginning his teaching degree. He did this with the charity Community Service Volunteers (now Volunteering Matters), working on their Intermediate Treatment Team, a proactive, early intervention programme designed to bring in young people before they offended.
Working alongside youth justice social workers, it was there that he gained real insight on the important role that a social worker can play in the life of a young person.
“After deciding teaching wasn’t for me, I returned to working with young people and decided to pursue a Degree in Social Work. I was delighted to get into a social work course at Oxford and my decision was bolstered through placements at the Probation office in Evesham and at a children’s Residential home in Oxford,” Rory said.
He qualified as a social worker in 1997 and began working with young offenders before moving to the Probation Service in England. After relocating to Northern Ireland, he continued his work with people caught up in the criminal justice system by taking a job at high security prison HMP Maghaberry. He was working predominantly with life sentenced prisoners.
“My time there was really an eye-opener. Many people within the facility are facing mental health or drug and alcohol addiction problems. It soon made me realise that their issues (Lifers) were just the same as others who offend in many cases,” Rory reflected.
In his current role as a probation officer with the Probation Board for Northern Ireland, Rory works as part of the Community Team, supporting adult males over 18 following their release from prison on licence, or on probation orders made at Court. Probation officers in Northern Ireland need to be qualified social workers.
His professional relationship with people released from prison continues for the duration of their period of licence supervision. He also participates in Parole Hearings where he gives his expert input on whether they can be safely released from prison by the Parole Commissioners for NI (PCNI).
A typical day at work for Rory could include days in the office and other days working-from-home. He sees service users in the Probation Office, and also when required in their own homes, with family members present if appropriate.
Rory says much of his time is spent writing reports about his service users and their circumstances which will help to inform decisions made about their sentencing in the future and preparing for parole hearings. While his undergraduate degree is in history, Rory believes completing a writing-heavy course in humanities has contributed to his ability to write analytic and meaningful reports.
“When I did my degree, I felt that being a history teacher would be a natural path to take, but I actually channel the skills I got from writing essays almost daily into writing reports. I’ve written thousands of them by now!” he says.
Rory admits that some cases weigh heavily on his mind outside of work hours and that his role is more than a 9-5 job, but he has worked to maintain a balance and ensure he does not ‘bring issues home’ with him.
Rory has shared his story as part of a month long campaign by the Northern Ireland Social Care Council to promote the value of social work in our communities. World Social Work Day 2025 was marked on March 18 and acknowledges the contribution social workers make both internationally and locally in Northern Ireland.
World Social Work Day takes place each year, with this year’s theme being Strengthening Intergenerational Solidarity for Enduring Wellbeing.
For those considering a similar role, Rory is reassuring about safety on the job. “Despite the type of work I do, I have only rarely felt worried for my safety. It is important to safeguard yourself, and if you are entering a situation where you feel there is potential for risk there are things you can do, like limit your home visits to daylight hours, or ensure your team are aware of where you are when working in the community.
“There is a good line management system in place which helps in risk management. Organisational safeguards are also in place through the Lone Worker system which holds Probation officers contact information so that our managers are able to confirm that we are safe if there is any issue regarding our whereabouts during the working day.”
Considering ‘essential skills’ for his role, Rory highlights empathy as a must-have: “I’ve seen people enter this line of work who lack an empathetic approach, and they did not last very long. Whilst of course we robustly enforce court orders if people do not comply, you must understand the community and acknowledge that deprivation and disadvantage exist.
“We live in an unequal world and tend to work with people in the lower economic side of society primarily. Empathy and understanding of the social circumstances that people are in and the ability to find something of yourself in everyone you deal with will ensure success in this field of work.”
Interested in finding out more about working as a social worker in the Probation board. Find more information here: pbni.org.uk/careers.
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