Volunteer Scotland have carried out our second survey to find out about young people’s involvement and future interest in volunteering.

1. Young People in Scotland Survey 2016
Analysis of volunteering – summary results
January 2017
Matthew Linning and Gemma Jackson
Volunteer Scotland, Research and Evaluation
W www.volunteerscotland.org.uk @VolScotland

2. Key points to cover
• A ‘Good news’ story
• Why has volunteering grown?
• Why does volunteering decline in adulthood?
• Can we make volunteering more inclusive?
• Summary & implications for policy and practice

3. YOUNG PEOPLE VOLUNTEERING
A ‘good news’ story

4. • Current engagement: 52% of young people volunteer (= 146,000 secondary
school children1) – c. double the adult level of 27%2
• Future engagement: 21% of ‘non-volunteers’ would like to volunteer in the
future
• Growth: strong growth trend in youth volunteering:
– 33% in 2009 (Being Young in Scotland, 2009)
– 45% in 2014 (YPiS, 2014)
– 52% in 2016 (YPiS, 2016)
• Regularity: 31% of young people volunteer at least once a month – compared
to only 17% of adults. Other evidence suggests that volunteering benefits are
directly linked to ‘regularity’
• Health benefits: 49% of young people volunteering choose sport or exercise –
associated with potential health benefits, combating childhood obesity, etc.
A ‘good news’ story – key findings
1 Source: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/TrendData (right click to open hyperlink)
2 Source: Scottish Household Survey, 2015 (http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/16002) (right click to open hyperlink)

5. Levels of volunteering
• 52% of young people have formally volunteered, with the majority doing so in their spare
time = 146,000 young people in total
• 15% of young people volunteer in both their spare time and in school time
27%
40%
21%
12% 13%
3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Yes, in school
time
Yes, in my own
spare time
No, but would like
to in future
No, and would
not consider
doing so
Don't know Prefer not to say
%ofyoungpeople
52%
33%
13%
3%
Yes
No
Don't Know
Not Stated
n = 1,550

6. Trend in youth volunteering: 2014 to 2016
Being Young in Scotland survey reported 33%
of 11-16 year olds had volunteered in 2009
20%
34%
18%
14%
17%
5%
45%
27%
40%
21%
12% 13%
3%
52%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Yes, in school
time
Yes, in my own
spare time
No, but would
like to in future
No, and would
not consider
doing so
Don't know Prefer not to
say
Total Yes
2014 (n = 2,016) 2016 (n = 1,550)
%ofyoungpeople
• Strong growth in volunteering participation from 33% in 2009 to 52% in 2016

7. Frequency of volunteering: by age
51%
59%
75%
30%
27%
18%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
11 - 13yrs 14 - 15yrs 16 - 18yrs
%ofyoungpeoplevolunteering
Regular Occasional
n = 817
• 16-18 year olds volunteer the most frequently
• Reasons for increased volunteering:
– drive to build experience, skills & CV
– more volunteering opportunities for post 16 age group?

8. WHY HAS YOUTH VOLUNTEERING
INCREASED?

9. • Push factors: parents, teachers & friends
• Pull factors: skills, experience and CV
• Jobs market: increasingly tight employment conditions for young people since
the economic recession of 2008. Linked to ‘pull factors’ above.
• Incentives: awards & recognition – Saltire, Duke of Edinburgh, etc.
• Targeted support: e.g. Project Scotland, The Prince’s Trust, Third Sector
Interface Network, etc.
Possible explanations

10. Routes into Volunteering (2014):
‘Push factors’
 Parents/guardians are most likely
to help young people into
volunteering, followed by teachers
and then friends
 Only 6% of young people start
volunteering on their own
[Note: this question was not asked
in the 2016 YPiS survey]
n = 923
0%
1%
2%
6%
10%
11%
18%
24%
30%
32%
41%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Neighbour
Someone at local job centre
Someone else
Did it on my own
Someone at local org (e.g.
library)
Someone from a scheme (e.g.
DofE, Saltire)
Other family member
Someone at a club/group
Friend
Teacher
Parent/guardian
% of young people volunteering

11. Actual benefits of volunteering
72%
48% 47% 45% 45% 43%
40%
37%
29%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
%ofyoungpeoplevolunteering
69%
34%
31%
22%
12% 11%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Wellbeing benefits Career benefits (‘pull
factors’)
n = 817
• Career benefits are important – especially skills development
• However, wellbeing, social capital & altruistic benefits are cited more frequently
• This highlights the importance of volunteering in enhancing self-efficacy

12. WHY DOES VOLUNTEERING
DECLINE IN ADULTHOOD?

13. 52%
29%
24%
31%
28% 28%
19%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
11 - 18 16 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 59 60 - 74 75 +
%ofpeople
Age category
Youth vs. adult volunteering participation
Trend in volunteering by age
YPiS, 2016, n=1,550
SHS, 2015, n=9,410
See separate ‘Technical Note’
on age cohort coverage

14. Possible explanations for drop-off
• Absence of the ‘ASK’ factor when young people leave education
• Demand for skills / CV building reduces when in employment
• Lack of time – increased career / personal responsibilities in
adulthood (yet, adult volunteering is highest for 35 – 44 age group,
which is usually the busiest time of people’s lives)
• Peer pressure/influence – perhaps volunteering is less appealing for
young adults
Addressing the drop-off: Can the ‘good practice’ lessons from
youth volunteering be used to grow adult volunteering?

15. HOW INCLUSIVE IS YOUTH VOLUNTEERING?

16. Inclusive volunteering:
Key findings
Deprivation: ‘U-shaped’ curve for volunteering in school by SIMD quintile: a
surprising but welcome finding. However, there is a major decline in the volunteering
rate out of school:
• 50% for schools with no pupils in lowest SIMD quintile
• 16% for schools with 60 – 100% of pupils in lowest quintile
Physical/mental health condition: volunteering is highest amongst those with a
physical or mental health condition of at least 12 months (61% vs. 53%) – a major
finding. This is counter-intuitive and at variance with adult volunteering (equivalent
SHS 2015 data are 17% vs. 27%)
Rurality: volunteering highest in rural areas compared to urban (65% vs. 49%)
Religion: volunteering participation and interest in volunteering is highest amongst
members of religious groups
Ethnicity: volunteering participation by white and non-white ethnic groups is similar
Gender: girls are more engaged than boys - 58% vs. 46%

17. Volunteering by deprivation
(Based on Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation)
50%
39%
34% 34%
16%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
None 0-20% 20-40% 40-60% 60-100%
%ofyoungpeople
Proportion of pupils in lowest SIMD quintile (by
school)
33%
23% 24% 22%
33%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
None 0-20% 20-40% 40-60% 60-100%
%ofyoungpeople
Proportion of pupils in lowest SIMD quintile (by
school)
n = 1,550
Deprivation data based on
proportion of pupils in the lowest
SIMD quintile for each school.
Data source: Scottish secondary
schools contact database
Volunteer in spare time
Volunteer in school time 62%
48% 47%
41%
47%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
None 0-20% 20-40% 40-60% 60-100%
%ofyoungpeople
Proportion of pupils in lowest SIMD quintile (by
school)
Total number of volunteers

18. SUMMARY & IMPLICATIONS

19. Summary highlights
• Scotland’s young people are very ‘volunteer active’, with the potential for further
growth in volunteering
• A variety of push / pull and other factors appear to have supported this growth
• Volunteering confers significant benefits to young people: wellbeing, social
capital, altruism and career advantages
• Young people are particularly interested in sport-related volunteering
opportunities and volunteering with their friends
• Age is a key factor – volunteering participation increases as pupils approach
school-leaving age
• Boys and girls’ current and future interest in volunteering is different - playing out
some gender stereotypes
• Youth volunteering has both inclusive and exclusive elements:
– Strong engagement amongst those with a physical/mental health condition
is a real positive
– Very low ‘out of school’ volunteering levels for those in the lowest SIMD
quintile is a major concern

20. Key implications
• Focused support from parents, schools, national awards, etc. appears to have
been remarkably successful in achieving a high and growing volunteer
participation rate amongst young people
• What lessons, if any, could be applied to engage adult volunteers?
• Other opportunities and challenges:
– Whether further growth in young people volunteering can, and should, be
achieved?
– Is the balance of support between youth and adult volunteering optimal?
– How can we retain the high level of youth volunteering engagement into
adulthood ? Opportunity for potential ‘adult returners’?
– Can we make youth volunteering more inclusive ?
– In particular, how can we reach the most disadvantaged young people in the
lowest SIMD quintile?