Voluntary Sector Leaders & Volunteers in Suffolk - Youth Employability

Alan Milburn, the voluntary sector in need, and a Suffolk opportunity to embrace? Here's your choice today. Read the news analysis on Alan Milburn's findings about the youth employment rate and the threat of a 'lost generation' - and feel totally frustrated at the prospect. Or, perhaps - and particularly if you're in the voluntary sector in the county of Suffolk - begin to consider and share your views on how this in-need sector might just have a role to play. Now that the first edition of Our Suffolk is out (a new publication which you can get hold of via Hannah R. at Community Action Suffolk or Hannah Bloom at Suffolk Community Foundation) I'm turning my attention to the next issue - and it feels like this news issue and the scope of volunteering has to be a discussion point. What Alan Milburn is touching on, is the idea of the apparently diminishing 'route to work'. For many young people, confidence, communication, teamwork, resilience and purpose are not developed in a classroom alone. They are often built through experience, connection and contribution. That’s where the VCFSE sector has a powerful role to play. Across Suffolk, charities, community groups and social enterprises are already helping some young people gain practical skills, workplace behaviours and real-world experience through volunteering opportunities, peer support, mentoring and community engagement. That volunteering can often become the first step into employment. I should know. I had my first volunteer role while a high school pupil - coincidentally meeting Mark Murphy MBE for the first time in my weekly role for Hospital Radio Ipswich. Today, I'm an ambassador at the charity he leads as CEO (Cancer Support Suffolk) and I know that organisations like this are always in need of volunteer support and are a great grounding for people who want future employment skills and opportunities. So, as I start work on the editorial for the next issue of Our Suffolk, I'd love to hear from leaders and recent volunteers who have a view on how the sector could do even more to aid employability through volunteering pathways right here in our county. Please do get in touch. #Communications #EditorialManagement #VCFSE #OurSuffolk #Volunteering #YouthUnemployment #SkillsforLife