The importance of volunteering in the local community
30 April 2009
The following was written by Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for environmental and land-based industries.
Volunteering is a very valuable economic and social asset, not only to the environmental and land-based sector but also for wider society.
Volunteering is an excellent way for individuals to boost their career prospects, increase self confidence and to socialise. For many, it provides an opportunity to road test different types of work in different industries, whilst providing invaluable evidence of employability. Volunteering is beneficial to communities and the environment by bringing together a set of like-minded individuals who are selflessly willing to donate their time, labour and skills.
Individuals volunteer for different reasons but the impact of volunteering is always constant; they help to sustain the organisations they volunteer for and are an invaluable source of additional (and low cost) labour, often filling skills gaps and shortages.
Lantra conservatively estimates that around half a million individuals volunteer within the environmental and land-based sector across the UK. Volunteers perform activities affiliated to most of the environmental and land-based industries within Lantra’s remit. Whilst there is a broad distribution of these volunteers across the sector, they predominately perform tasks related to the trees and timber, landscape, fencing, environmental conservation and animal care industries.
A recent report by the Commission on the Future of Volunteering, ‘Manifesto for Change 2008’ provides details of how volunteers do much more than just provide extra help and fill gaps in services. The Commission’s findings demonstrate that the contribution made by volunteers is often distinctive and critical to how organisations are run and services are delivered. Specific examples include making services more personal and genuinely caring; encouraging an innovative and fresh perspective; a source of local and other knowledge; offer long-term support to an organisation; promote community cohesion and help to build strong communities; and offer individuals a means of precipitating change through campaigning, lobbying and involvement in governance.
The Commission’s findings demonstrate that the majority of organisations that use environmental and land-based volunteers would simply not be able to function without their help.
However, it is paramount that volunteers are appropriately assessed as to what their skills are, and any gaps or shortages relevant to their role, addressed. This ensures the volunteer is receiving the fullest experience (which may improve retention rates and/or possibly encourage them to enter into the paid sector), is not put at risk, and also ensures that the organisation is getting the maximum benefit from its volunteers.
This is a subject close to the heart of Lantra who have spent some time researching the skills needs of volunteers. Dr Gordon McGlone OBE, Lantra Chairman said: “The volunteer of the future is going to be a different kind of individual. We’re seeing an increasing demand for skills development, although you may have to invest a lot of time in a volunteer to bring the best out of them, the rewards are enormous.”
Lantra champions the recognition of skills in the workplace, and actively promotes the employability value that volunteering within the environmental and land-based sector provides.
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