Volunteer your way back into work during the recession

The recession might not be all bad news according to a national organisation for volunteers.

It turns out volunteering might just be the best way back into work if you find yourself unemployed in the current volatile jobs market – just scroll down to look at some of our case studies below.

National agency Volunteering England says the doubling of enquiries about volunteering opportunities in January and February 2009, since the same time last year, is due to the dramatic rise in unemployment across the UK.

It says this is not only good for our communities but also a great way for job hunters to gain more skills, make themselves attractive potential employees and help bring the country out of recession.

National Statistic figures released last week show the most recent 6.7 per cent rate of unemployment as the highest since 1997. The number of unemployed has risen by 486,000 for the year to February 2009 to reach 2.10million and the number redundant is the highest figure since comparable records began in 1995.

Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England, says: “The recession is having a major impact on the world of volunteering.

“Many thousands of people are now looking for volunteering opportunities as a way of making good use of their time and as a route back into employment.

“The increase in the number of people wanting to volunteer is good news for our local community services, which will benefit from the skills and time from new and existing volunteers. People will develop capabilities which will help our society recover from the recession.”

Fiona Dawe, Chief Executive of YouthNet, home of the UK’s volunteering website do-it.org.uk, said: “More and more people are recognising volunteering as a valuable way to build on skills and improve chances in a turbulent job market, which is also good news for charities and organisations that will depend further upon volunteers during the recession.

“Volunteering is becoming more accessible and attitudes towards it are changing, so although this is a difficult and challenging time, we hope that the interest it generates in volunteering continues, as more people realise the benefits it can have on them, and the community.”

Article published in the Mirror (28 April 2009): Click Here