Volunteer work and its links to the labour market experiences of young people

12/04/2021

Date of Publication:  December 2020

Authors:                     Niall O’Higgins

Published by:             UN Volunteers and International Labour Organisation

This paper looks at how volunteering can benefit young people at the start of their careers. It uses existing literature and undertakes further longitudinal analyses, including the effects of volunteering on young people as they seek to access good jobs.

The age range of participants was 15–29 years. Volunteer work was defined as all people of working age who, during a short reference period, performed any unpaid, non-compulsory activity to produce goods or provide services for others.  The International Labour Organisation has collated data on forms of volunteering for 41 countries and incorporated this into their database; it also investigated past research on the topic.

Broadly speaking, young people are less likely to be engaged in volunteer work than adults, although this varies by country and type of volunteering.  The main findings of their paper include:

  1. The heterogeneity of volunteer work both across and within countries was apparent in both the characteristics of volunteers and the association between volunteer work and labour market outcomes.
  2. In a range of countries, at least until 30 years of age, volunteer work increased with education and age.
  3. Youth not in employment, education, or training were generally less likely to undertake volunteer work compared with young people who are in employment.
  4. Volunteer work was positively related to labour market outcomes across a range of countries. Volunteers were more likely to be employed and were more likely to have higher wages.

The authors note, however, that identifying causality remains an issue.

To conclude, the paper provides policymakers with a better understanding of the mechanisms through which volunteer work can play a positive role in enhancing young people’s transition from education to employment.

The full report is available here.