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Managing volunteers research

Skills - Third Sector has funded an important new piece of research into the skills needs of people who manage volunteers. It is particularly timely that this research is released at a point when the role that volunteers will play in delivering the Big Society is being debated by the coalition government and the voluntary sector at large.

Important new research into the skills needed for people who manage volunteers

A new report presenting research carried out by the Institute of Volunteering Research for Skills - Third Sector reveals that more training and development is needed for people who manage volunteers. It shows that nearly half of people who manage volunteers have not received any training that would help them in their work, despite the fact that volunteers are crucial to the government’s Big Society. 

The report, Valuing Volunteer Management Skills, canvassed opinion from over 1000 third sector organisations. Despite identifying that there is much good practice in volunteer management in England today, it also reveals that volunteer management remains undervalued and underfunded in many organisations, including those with the largest incomes. And that although volunteer management is recognised as a distinct and vital role across organisations of all sizes, people managing volunteers in small groups need much more support than they currently get.

Key findings:
  • 42% of people who manage volunteers have not received any training that would help in their work with volunteers
  • members of networks were considerably more likely to access training and support than those who weren’t members - 74% compared to 49%
  • there is strong demand for additional training and skills development across the range of functions outlined in the National Occupational Standards in the management of volunteers
  • many organisations rely greatly on the local and national volunteering infrastructure for advice and support, particularly on local Volunteer Centres.

The report also calls for further research to explore:
  • the trend towards using volunteers to manage other volunteers
  • the differing skills sets required for managing volunteers in different sizes of organisations

Read the full report by downloading it from this page.

Institute of Volunteering Research

The Institute for Volunteering Research is an initiative of Volunteering England in research partnership with Birkbeck, University of London.  Please visit www.ivr.org.uk for more information.

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