Background: Research from The Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) explores the role of Volunteer Centres in supporting and developing the link between volunteering and increased employability. This document gives a brief summary of the key benefits of volunteering for employability that we found as part of the research.
The full report, which focuses on good practice advice for Volunteer Centres, will be published shortly. The research encompasses a literature review, a telephone survey of 220 Volunteer Centres in England and eight in-depth case studies of Volunteer Centre employability projects.
Key Findings: Volunteering offers a unique opportunity to strengthen employability - through the flexibility of roles on offer, the people-centred support received by volunteers and the practical experience it can give individuals.
The research reaffirms that the relationship between volunteering and employability is not straightforward. It is important to recognise that it is heavily dependent upon the nature of the volunteering role, the needs of the volunteer, the support they receive from Volunteer Centres and the organisations they volunteer with.
Having said this, volunteers, Volunteer Centres, volunteer-involving organisations, Jobcentre Plus and many other employment agencies describe a range of employability benefits from volunteering in an illuminating way.
- 87% of Volunteer Centres have seen an increase in enquiries about volunteering opportunities in the last six months. (IVR, 2009)
- 72% of Volunteer Centres expect to carry out work directly involving employability and training in the future. (IVR, 2009)
- 86% of employers rank ‘positive attitude’ and ‘employability’ in their top three demands (here ‘employability’ means specific skills such as team-working and communication). (CBI, 2008)
- 61% of volunteers think that having the opportunity to learn new skills is an important benefit of volunteering. (Helping Out, 2007)
Benefits: The strongest benefit is found to be the increased confidence and self-esteem that many individuals gain from their volunteering - especially important for the long term unemployed and those at risk of social exclusion. Much of this involves getting volunteers ‘job ready’ by moving them to a position whereby they are able to consider employment as an option.
Development of skills: The development of “soft skills” for employment including teamwork, communication and other social and interpersonal skills are also important benefits. Often it is the supportive and people-centred ethos of the volunteering sector that facilitates the development of these skills.
Many volunteers also gain a range of ‘hard’ employment skills such as practical IT, media and organisational skills. Volunteering often presents individuals with opportunities they would not otherwise experience, such as managerial roles, which are especially important for those looking for career development in their current job. This practical learning is often galvanised through complementary training and education.
The current climate: Finally, and crucially in an increasingly competitive market place, is the evidence of employability that volunteering offers individuals. For those who are recently unemployed, volunteering is seen as a good way of maintaining existing skills and demonstrating to potential employers personal proactivity and commitment. For the longer term unemployed volunteering offers a chance to show determination and “fitness” as well as the opportunity to receive a positive reference.
With 87% of Volunteer Centres experiencing a rise in demand for volunteer opportunities over the past six months it is critical that they are properly resourced so that they can support volunteers trying to get back into employment and strengthen the country’s resilience to the recession.
