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Skills in the voluntary sector

Skills are the practical abilities and knowledge that people need to do their jobs well.

What do we mean by skills?

When we talk about skills we mean the practical abilities and knowledge that people need to do their jobs well and make a difference to people and their communities.

Skills needs of the sector

UK Voluntary Sector Skills Survey 2007 found the voluntary sector has particular skills needs and that when staff, volunteers and trustees don’t have the right skills then this has a detrimental impact on organisations. The Executive Summary highlights key findings, including that a lack of time and funding for training and development were evident across the sector, but that employers in the sector acknowledged the importance of training their staff and volunteers. Information about the size and characteristics of the staff, volunteers and trustees who make up the voluntary sector’s workforce is available in the UK Voluntary Sector Workforce Almanac or Executive Summary.

From the available research, we have identified four priority areas that require skills development so that charities and social enterprises can meet the challenges and demands of the sector in the next three years.

  • governance and leadership
  • skills for business
  • volunteer management
  • measuring effectiveness and impact.

You can download the document that maps the skills needs identified in the skills survey against these priority areas from the resources section of this page.

Throughout this website you will find more information about the work that we are going to support skills in these four priority areas including the national skills strategy we are about to take out to consultation. Follow the link for updates on the national skills strategy and to take part in the consultation.

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