Survey Reveals £128m Value of Youth Work Volunteers in Scotland

  • 27 Jun 2012
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Jane, Robert and John Bathgate who Scout in Galashiels

A survey published today (Tuesday) by YouthLink Scotland, the national agency for youth work, in partnership with their National Voluntary Youth Work Organisations network has revealed that youth work volunteers contributed more than 12million hours of volunteering to communities across Scotland in 2011/12.

Significant benefits to Scottish economy

Based on an average youth work staff rate of £10 per hour, if this time was to be paid for from the public purse it would have cost more than £128million.

The statistics show that a staggering 73,004 adult youth work volunteers contributed to a total of 12,841,040 volunteering hours through these organisations to help make a difference to the lives of Scotland’s young people and their communities.

In total, 386,795 young people were engaged in some form of youth work via the 33 national voluntary youth work organisations from within YouthLink Scotland’s membership that contributed to this report.

The survey also highlights the importance of the Scottish Government’s Unified Voluntary Sector Fund (UVS Fund) to the youth work sector, revealing that £1.5million of grants from the UVS Fund was distributed to national voluntary youth work organisations in Scotland in 2011/12 for core funding of their organisation. This fund is currently under review by the Scottish Government.

Importance of volunteers' contributions

Commenting on the results of the survey, Chief Executive of YouthLink Scotland Jim Sweeney said, “The findings from this survey highlight the incredible commitment and contribution of youth work volunteers in Scotland. These volunteers make a huge difference to improving the day-to-day lives of thousands of our young people and their efforts should never be taken for granted.

“This report also underlines the importance of the Unified Voluntary Sector Fund to voluntary youth work organisations in Scotland. Money from this fund is particularly crucial, as it is one of the only sources of dedicated core funding that national voluntary youth work organisations have access to. This contribution to core funding enables organisations to look beyond the immediate need to fundraise and focus on the direct delivery of services to our young people.

“The substantial figures outlined in this report offer just a snapshot of the range and scale of youth work that takes place across Scotland."

Further information

You can download the full report of the survey here.

The Bathgate family, pictured above, were featured in The Herald as a case study on volunteering. You can read their story oline here.