Volunteers lack skills

Prime Minister David Cameron’s Big Society expects a lot from Britain’s 17 million active volunteers and the local charities and organisations that they support. But a recent study by the Institute for Volunteering Research suggests that more skills training is needed for them to take on the challenges Big Society is throwing their way.

“Big Society is all about empowering people to become actively involved in their neighbourhoods and communities to bring about the changes needed,” says Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society.  

“It is great that the government is encouraging people to get into volunteering and to take ownership of their local communities but people need help and support to get into volunteering,” says Helen Walker, the Chief Executive Officer at Time Bank, a British volunteering charity.  

On August 31 the Institute for Volunteering Research released a report, Valuing Volunteer Management Skills, revealing an extensive skills gap of the people who manage volunteers. The report spoke to 1,004 British volunteer managers.

The report says respondents repeatedly stated that they had particular difficulties recruiting volunteers for roles in campaigning, IT support, fundraising, handling money, leadership, research and policy work.

Helen Walker confirms that there is definitely a need to invest more into human capital of smaller local charities in Britain. Her organisation, Time Bank, is launching a programme called Leaders Together to address that very need. A mentoring programme, Leaders Together matches mentors from civil society, the public sector and the private sector with mentees who run small local charities. Mentors give 24 hours of their time over six months and help mentees work on an area of weakness.

“Already 70 people have expressed interest in the project and we haven’t even had an official launch yet! I think that this is quite indicative of the need,” says Walker.