Forgot your password?
Document Actions
Voluntary and Community Sector workforce project
The Voluntary and Community Sector is a major employer with a workforce of at least 608,000 paid employees and several million unpaid volunteers. An estimated 1.1 million full time UK workers would be needed to replace the work of unpaid volunteers.
There are increasing expectations being placed upon voluntary and community organisations of all shapes and sizes as providers of public services. Government is demonstrating a growing support for the sector and the role it plays in contributing to the social and economic regeneration of the nation, via the Compact, Change Up and now through the Comprehensive Spending Review of the future role of the Third Sector.
In 2004, SkillsActive, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for Active Leisure and Learning, was assigned lead responsibility for the Voluntary and Community Workforce Project across the network of SSCs. Working closely with the UK Voluntary and Community Sector Workforce Development Hub. The main aims of the project were to:
- support the Skills for Business Network in meeting the skills needs of the UK’s voluntary and community workforce
- ensure the Skills for Business Network is the central place for advice on the voluntary and community workforce.
The third phase of the project completed in March 2007, and focused on extending the work done in phase one and two, which included building the capacity of SSCs finding sustainable approaches to workforce development and strengthening the partnership with the UK Workforce Hub.
SkillsActive’s role as the lead SSC for the voluntary and community sector workforce project across the Skills for Business network ended in Spring 2007. Click here to read the news story regarding this.
Shaks Ghosh, Chief Executive of Crisis and SSDA Board Member, said: “We hear much about UK plc but we must not forget the importance of building communities in the UK. The Voluntary and Community Sector is unique in the way it reaches into the very heart of our communities. I am delighted to be involved in this vital project which will develop the skills and expertise for the growing role that the Sector will play in tomorrow's UK”
SkillsActive worked with a steering group of SSCs including: Lantra, Skills for Health, Skills for Justice, Go Skills, Skills for Care and Development and Lifelong Learning UK .
For more details on the above project please contact John Thorpe, Bansari Somani or Kim Harman. For more details about the future direction this work across the Skills for Business Network, please email caroline.roberts@ssda.org.uk.
