With offices in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie, Volunteering Tasmania works with a wide cross sector of the community.

Transcription

1

2 Volunteering Tasmania is Tasmania s Peak body for volunteering. We: Deliver volunteer management services to organisations who use volunteers; Assist the Tasmanian community who wish to volunteer their knowledge, skills and time; and Offer advocacy and social policy development services. seeking volunteers, Volunteering Tasmania provides: Practical services to Managers of Volunteers programs so they can deliver effective and sustainable programs; Skills development for Managers of Volunteers to ensure the best outcomes for the organisation as well as the volunteers; Assistance to organisations to find the right volunteers through our web portal Volunteer Connect ; Best practice insights on the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement which are supported by research to deliver the best outcomes; and Information on changing trends in volunteering worldwide. and potential volunteers, Volunteering Tasmania encourages and facilitates their active participation in the Tasmanian community and guide them into roles that area good fit for them. We work to ensure the volunteer experience is a quality one and that they keep participating as volunteers. With offices in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie, Volunteering Tasmania works with a wide cross sector of the community. Volunteering Tasmania is regarded as the single authoritative volunteering voice in Tasmania. We provide strategic advice and leadership as Tasmanian s Peak volunteering body. Volunteering Tasmania s continued presence is essential to the sustainability of volunteering and to act as an advocate for the industry.

3 A skilled workforce is essential to growing Tasmania s economy. Building this skilled workforce requires investment in education; building a job ready generation. Tasmania has a number of challenges in building educational outcomes for students and preparing them for work. Volunteering offers an excellent pathway to employment and a way of developing work like skills and networks in young people. Increasing evidence shows the linkages between volunteering and opportunities for skill development, including finding paid employment. Volunteering can provide an excellent opportunity for individuals to find valuable work skills and networks, or re-engage in education and training opportunities. We see an opportunity to assist students to increase opportunities for work and training. Volunteering Tasmania s previous work in schools has resulted in students gaining confidence and skills to enter the workforce in the future, including: Developing employment skills; Exploring potential career options; Gaining references and referees; Building work relationships in the local community. Through volunteering, students can also learnt a variety of practical skills that are vital for employability, including: Being an effective member of a team; Following direction of a supervisor or manager; Being punctual and reliable; Working with people of different ages and backgrounds; Learning to undertake new tasks. Volunteering is great preparation for a future career and an opportunity for young Tasmanians to learn about work opportunities, build work values and networks. Being a volunteer allows young people to learn skills that may be important to their future career. 1 1 UVM, How Does Volunteering Benefit High School Students?, The UB (March 2010) at (Accessed 1 November 2015)

4 One of Volunteering Tasmania s priorities in the Education portfolio is to introduce the value of volunteering into schools. There is a strong evidence base around the benefits of volunteering for young people. It also supports much of the policy framework within schools. The Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians underpins the policy framework for the Australian Schools Curriculum. 2 These educational goals identify that young people should become successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active and informed citizens. 3 Volunteering complements these goals. Participation in vocational education and training and university education in Tasmania is increasing. Despite this, a high proportion of Tasmanian school leavers do not progress to further training or employment. In 2011, 25.6 per cent of all school leavers aged years in Tasmania were not fully engaged in further education or employment - the highest proportion of all states and territories. 4 Volunteering Tasmania believes that volunteering provides an opportunity for students to support their local community whilst simultaneously giving them opportunities to prepare for their future career. Volunteering Tasmania has experienced the benefits of school volunteering programs firsthand, through the Volunteering in Schools pilot project that launched in Through this program Volunteering Tasmania linked high school students to volunteering opportunities in their local communities. Outcomes of this project were: Developing meaningful student volunteer experiences; Supporting Volunteer Involving Organisations to engage with young people as volunteers; Enabling Volunteer Involving Organisations to maintain youth engagement after the cessation of the project; Promoting social and employment-related development for young people; Encouraging ongoing involvement in volunteering. The project particularly supported students at risk of social exclusion and disengaging from their school community. This aligns with Volunteering Tasmania s commitment to increasing opportunities for community participation regardless of socio-economic background. A reinvigorated Volunteering in Schools program would assist young people disengaging with education or needing specific work skills. Our experience in developing pilot programs in this field, supports a growing evidence base of the benefits of volunteering in schools. There is an opportunity for schools to make meaningful learning opportunities, and potentially support 2 MCEETYA, Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, (December 2008) or_young_australians.pdf (accessed 1 November 2015) 3 Australian Education Curriculum at (accessed 1 November 2015) 4 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Social Trends 2009, Education and Training Data Cube, ABS Cat. No at (accessed 1 November 2015)

5 disengaged students whilst meeting state and national education goals. 5 Through the volunteering, I felt a level of personal and professional acceptance. I had become one of the team. It was good for my self-esteem. I had really enjoyed the work and received a sense of satisfaction from it. I had developed admin skills, worked with people that had refugee experience, and communicated effectively. All of this gave me a new sense of hope. (Megan s story cited in Volunteering Australia, Social Inclusion and Volunteering Report) You learn new skills you can use in the workplace and real life. (Volunteer cited in Volunteering Tasmania, Schools Project Hobart College, Evaluation Report 2014) By the conclusion of the project he admitted he was surprised to discover the project was one of the best experiences he d had at school. He said he learnt a lot of new skills and also had fun. He said he would definitely volunteer in the future. The impact for this particular student was huge, according to his teacher and other school staff. This project succeeded in interesting the student in school when he was at risk of becoming disengaged and dropping out. (Teacher cited in Volunteering Tasmania, Schools Project Hobart College, Evaluation Report 2014) An organisation expressed a desire to provide two students with a written reference to include in their resume. This shows they were happy with the students work and wanted to support them to gain employment. (Teacher cited in Volunteering Tasmania, Schools Project, Hobart College, Evaluation Report 2014) 5 Tasmanian Liberals, Policy at (accessed 1 November 2015); Volunteering ACT Promoting Youth Engagement and Wellbeing through Student Volunteer Programs in ACT Schools at (accessed 1 November 2015); Volunteering Tasmania Schools Project Pilot Program Evaluation Report

6 A Volunteering in Schools program would be a valuable contribution to the State Government s commitment to invest over $53 million to create a job ready generation of Tasmanians. 6 The State Government have already invested significantly in funding for Education. However, Volunteering Tasmania notes that currently there is little within the Education budget to support students at risk of disengagement. There are few existing opportunities to provide specific support to address the high rate of youth unemployment in Tasmania. Volunteering Tasmania recommends an investment of up to $375,000 over two years to reinvigorate the Volunteering in Schools program. We recommend a Pilot scheme targeting areas of most need based on the current ABS SEIFA index of areas of socio-economic disadvantage. A particular focus on the North and North West regions of the State is also required, as these regions have higher areas of youth unemployment. 7 Volunteering Tasmania recommends targeting secondary schools in the following LGA areas: Brighton; Derwent Valley; George Town; Devonport ; Burnie-Wivanhoe; Break O Day. 8 Within these resources Volunteering Tasmania could commit to: Engage up to 6 schools (2 per region) to commit to a pilot Volunteering in Schools project; Engage up to 15 students per school to undertake volunteering as part of the Volunteering in Schools Project; Engage Volunteer Involving Organisations in each region to participate in the Volunteering in Schools Project; Support Volunteer Involving Organisations engage with young people during and beyond the project; Undertake an evaluation of the project s success and recommendations for future action in this field; Undertake an impact report to see how volunteering impacted the students engaged in the project. An investment of $375,000 over two years would support Volunteering Tasmania to: Recruit 3 full time (or equivalent) Project Officers in each region; Develop a statewide implementation of a pilot program for Volunteering in Schools; 6 Tasmanian Liberals, Policy at (accessed 1 November 2015) 7 K Henry, How s Australia Faring? A Compendium of Social Inclusion Indicators, Australian Social Inclusion Board (May 2009): 37 8 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census Population and Housing 2011: Socio Economic Indexes for Areas, ABS Cat No at (accessed 1 November 2015)

7 Cover any administration, oncosts and IT required to support the Volunteer in Schools Project; Create State Government co-branded collateral and promotional materials; Reimburse expenses for volunteers; Both the Beacon Foundation and Whitelion were funded in last year s Budget to provide employment services to young people for three years at $225k and $100k per year respectively. 9 While these organisations provide valuable assistance to unemployed young people, investment is needed to continue to support youth employment in Tasmania particularly helping young people build practical work skills. A Volunteering in Schools program would support the valuable investment made into these organisations, and provide some broad based support. Volunteering in Schools is a commitment to early intervention assisting students gain valuable work skills, networks and community engagement before they end their schooling period. It is an investment in preparing for a lifetime of work. This can be achieved whilst growing civic participation and community engagement. Volunteering Tasmania offers training to assist jobseekers to find suitable volunteer roles. Our engaging training, focuses on supporting jobseekers particularly those with barriers to employment. Volunteering Tasmania recommends enabling greater access to volunteering as a potential pathway to employment, through a targeted delivery of workshops that support job seekers. This training has proved effective in organisations who have currently adopted this as a mechanism for supporting job seekers to find employment. This would be an ideal pilot training program to deliver through Tasmanian LINC s and Online Access Centres in areas experiencing high unemployment. Tasmania s current unemployment rate is 6.2% statewide, compared to 6.1% nationally. 10 However, there are a number of localities that experience significantly higher unemployment rates: Glenorchy 12.6 per cent; Bridgewater Gagebrook 26.4 per cent; Ravenswood 23.7 per cent; Rokeby 16 per cent; Risdon Vale 15.3 per cent; 9 Department of Treasury and Finance, Tasmanian State Budget at 4baca257e49000ff529?OpenDocument (accessed 1 November 2015) 10 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Australia, October (accessed 1 November 2015)

8 Invermay 15.0 per cent; Burnie Wivanhoe 14 per cent. 11 There is a mounting evidence base to suggest that volunteering is an excellent pathway to employment. Recent research in the United States measured how effective volunteering was as a pathway to employment, particularly for long term unemployed. This research showed that over 20 per cent of study participants found a paid job after volunteering. Volunteering was also shown to offer a 27 per cent increase in opportunities of employment (higher for people without high school education). This is one example of volunteering offering assisted entry into a new field of employment In Australia, research has similarly shown that volunteering experience is highly valued by employers. Volunteering can assist people who have been unemployed or underemployed (working casually, not gaining enough hours/income for example). 12 Volunteering: Enhances an individual s skills and knowledge; Gives an individual greater confidence and self-esteem; Provides access to different organisations and job networks. Volunteering Tasmania recommends targeting participating LINCs and Online Access Centres close to these localities as areas that may benefit most from ongoing Pathways to Employment training. To ensure that cost to participants is free, we recommend a small investment from the State Government to commence targeted delivery of Pathways to Employment. The session allowed participants to get outside their comfort zone in a supportive environment, by allowing them to speak in front of their peers, share stories and brainstorm ideas in groups. Confidence was low among the participants but they all commented they enjoyed the opportunity to attend a workshop and start to identify the skills they need to work on (Volunteering Tasmania, DPAC Social Inclusion Unit, Funding Report) The cost for Pathways to Employment training is $310 per workshop, which caters to a small group of 10 people. To ensure maximum effectiveness Volunteering Tasmania recommends this training 11 Department of Employment, Small Area Labour Markets June Quarter 2015, Australian Government at (accessed 12 November 2015) 12 (Levy 2009)

9 is offered in an ongoing way in the identified LGAs. This would ensure monthly workshops on a continued basis. To deliver targeted Pathways to Employment training, Volunteering Tasmania recommends an investment by the Department of approximately $28,000 per annum. Offering Pathways to Employment Training across LGAs with higher unemployment rates would support the State Government s commitment to boost employment in Tasmania. This would provide better value and better support for individuals to develop the skills required in the workforce. Engaging more people in volunteering not only supports individuals requiring work skills and experiences, it also drives the Tasmanian economy. We know that the not for profit sector is a driver of equitable growth, and that engaging more people in volunteering will create more jobs in the State. 13 Evaluation of the success of this Pilot scheme could occur after 12 months to ensure its effectiveness and supporting individuals gain access to volunteering, and the employment benefits this offers. Volunteering Tasmania has identified the benefits of supporting English Language Migrant students utilising volunteering as a pathway to employment. There are existing TasTAFE programs that would benefit from engaging with Volunteering Tasmania s Pathways to Employment training in an ongoing way. The English Language Services stream, offers assistance to these students in improving skills to live, work and study in Tasmania. 14 For Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Tasmanian s, volunteering can particularly bring about benefits, including: Building local connections; Gaining professional references; Work experience; Giving back in the local community; Developing friendships; There are challenges for migrants moving to Tasmania, who are looking for social interactions/networks; gaining work experience. Volunteering can enable opportunities for individuals looking for skills and/or social networks. However, the access for many people to engage in volunteering can be challenging. Pathways to Employment training enables an easy access point for individuals to understand the benefits of volunteering and how they may access these opportunities. 13 Volunteering Tasmania, State of Volunteering Report 2014: The Economic, Social and Cultural Value of Volunteering (Hobart, 2014) at (accessed 12 November 2015) 14 TasTAFE, English Language Services at (accessed 14 November 2015)

10 Jasmine is a CALD graduate from UTAS who could not find work in her professional area and was having to clean and deliver pizzas to pay the bills. She came through Volunteering Tasmania looking to volunteer to a Volunteer Organisation. Once placed, she was then able to assist them for three months with IT services that they could not afford but badly needed. With her experience and references from her volunteer work she was able to find fulltime employment with an IT company in Hobart. (Volunteering Tasmania, DPaC, Social Inclusion Unit, Impact Report ) Incorporating Volunteering Tasmania s Pathways to Employment training would come at minimal cost. The average cost of training through these workshops is $310 per workshop for 10 students. Volunteering Tasmania recommends offering training 4 times per year across the following campuses: Launceston; Burnie; Devonport; Smithton; Hobart; Derwent Park; Claremont; Clarence.