Inquiry recommends that volunteering be recognised as job-seeking activity

Volunteering should be recognised as a route to work and a legitimate job-seeking activity for young adults on benefits, a cross-party inquiry will recommend today.

A group chaired by Baroness Morgan of Huyton calls for a cultural shift towards volunteering in both the public and private sectors, and recommends the introduction of a flexible day off for accredited volunteering. There report says that young adults can develop transferable skills and it recommends that they be better informed on how to volunteer. Lady Morgan said: “Everyone says volunteering is a good thing. But it is not always straight forward to get involved and there are real and perceived obstacles which act as barriers to the young.”

Oliver Letwin, the chairman of the Conservative police review, said: “The potential of voluntary action, especially in tackling social and environmental problems, is huge. We need to do more to encourage young people to volunteer, so I very much welcome this report.”

Volunteers' Week is the UK's annual celebration of the work volunteers do. During the week, events are held across the country to recognise, reward and recruit volunteers. It plays a huge part in raising the profile of England’s 22 million volunteers while encouraging others to get involved. You can take part too.