Volunteering
and Settlement in Australia: A Snapshot
65 per cent of new arrivals to Australia volunteered within the first 18
months of their arrival to Australia, to contribute to society, make friends,
improve their English or gain local work experience.
In the joint
report from The Settlement Council of Australia (SCoA) and Volunteering
Australia, released on Thursday 23 May 2019, SCoA CEO, Tammy Woods noted,
“Nearly one-third (31%) of all Australians are volunteers. It’s more than double that within refugee and
migrant communities…”
The findings
of this report have led to recommendations and conclusions to encourage greater
understanding, participation and opportunities for further research,
consultation and collaboration with the volunteering and settlement sectors to
work out what is needed in order to develop culturally appropriate training
materials and models.
- Australia
is a nation built on immigration and diversity. The 2016 Census indicates that
49% of Australians are either born overseas, or have one or both parents who
were born overseas.
- In Australia, charities rely on the efforts of
volunteers for many of their activities. Volunteers encompass 2.97 million
members of the charitable sector workforce, compared to one million paid staff
members. The Giving Australia 2016 report on non-profits and volunteering has
also found that 62.3 per cent of organisations in the not-for-profit sector
actively recruited volunteers.
- Volunteering can lead to employment by increasing
workforce participation and connecting people to career paths that are better
paid and more stable. Research conducted by SEEK Volunteer has found that:
- 95% of
employers believe that volunteering can be a credible way of gaining real-work
experience to add to your resume.
- 85% of
recruiters believe that volunteering is just as credible as paid work as long
as it is relevant to the role or industry the person works in.
- 92% of
employers said that relevant volunteer experience gives candidates an advantage
in job interviews.
Other highlights
from the report include:
- For new arrivals to Australia, having skills and
qualifications recognised is vital to attaining employment. Volunteering is
important to gaining local work experience or an Australian referee.
- While volunteering provides no financial incentive
it does promote community connections and a strong self of positive self-worth
by preparing refugees to enter the workforce. Volunteering has been found to
have direct positive benefits for new arrivals’ physical and mental health,
improved access to healthcare and promoted cultural and social integration.
- Volunteering can also be an effective way of
improving English language skills by allowing recent arrivals to Australia to
immerse themselves in an Australian workplace or organisational setting,
network, being introduced to cultural norms and practice their language skills
among peers.
- Volunteer management plays a critical role in
successful volunteer engagement. The role of managers of volunteers in
recruitment, induction, training, support and management is indispensable to
ensuring safe and effective volunteering.
- To support Volunteer Involving Organisations,
Volunteering Australia has developed The National Standards for Volunteer Involvement,
which is the best-practice framework for volunteer management. Volunteering
Australia recommends the use of the Standards to help organisations attract,
manage, recognise and retain volunteers, and to manage risk and safety with
respect to volunteers.
Read the
full report at: https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/Volunteering-and-Settlement-in-Australia-May-2019.pdf