In short: Volunteering can……

• Enhance employability
• Be a step into full time employment
• Develop transferable skills
• Give direct experience
• Help with career decisions
• Provide something to do with free time

The benefits of volunteering for young people are countless! Spending a bit of free time each week or month volunteering can massively increase a young persons employability. If they volunteer for something directly linked to what they would like to go into (e.g volunteering in a youth group and hoping to become a youth worker or volunteering in hospital and planning to be a nurse) then they are getting practical experience and knowledge of the relevant field. They will meet people who know a lot about what they do and have a lot of experience to pass on. And perhaps most importantly, they will get an idea of whether it is actually what they want to do. But even if the volunteering is unrelated to the potential career ath, volunteers will be able to show to potential employers and/or colleges etc that they ave dedicated some of their free time to volunteering. They will have gained numerous transferable skills such as team-work, organisational skills and reliability.

The ‘Volunteer profiles’ show how individual volunteers themselves regard their experiences and some show how their volunteering has helped them move into employment, get onto college courses, and develop their skills.

2) Is volunteering right for my client?
Volunteering can be right for everyone. But it is worth considering whether it is right for your client at this time in their life in terms of time, commitment and money. Please note that not all volunteering roles require a huge commitment, so if time is a problem a taster session or residential might be appropriate, or an option which is quite flexible. If your client is very busy with other commitments such as family, education, employment etc there is likely to be something they can get involved in without taking on too much. Most organisations understand that volunteers have other commitments so are usually pretty flexible.

3) How to get them involved? – If you are working with someone aged 16-25 who is interested in finding out more about volunteering you/they can:

• Download a registration form
• Contact us to make an appointment
• Pop in to our Thursday afternoon drop-in

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