Young People in Scotland Survey 2016Analysis of volunteering – summary results

January 2017

Matthew Linning and Gemma JacksonVolunteer Scotland, Research and Evaluation W www.volunteerscotland.org.uk

@VolScotland

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

YOUNG PEOPLE VOLUNTEERING

A ‘good news’ story

• 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)

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

Yes, in

school ti

me

Yes, in

my o

wn spare

time

No, but w

ould like t

o in fu

ture

No, and w

ould not consid

er doing so

Don't know

Prefer

not to sa

y0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%

27%

40%

21%12% 13%

3%

% o

f you

ng p

eopl

e 52%33%

13%3%

YesNoDon't KnowNot Stated

n = 1,550

Trend in youth volunteering: 2014 to 2016

Being Young in Scotland survey reported 33% of 11-16 year olds had volunteered in 2009

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 Yes0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

20%

34%

18%14% 17%

5%

45%

27%

40%

21%

12% 13%

3%

52%

2014 (n = 2,016) 2016 (n = 1,550)

% o

f you

ng p

eopl

e

• Strong growth in volunteering participation from 33% in 2009 to 52% in 2016

Frequency of volunteering: by age

11 - 13yrs 14 - 15yrs 16 - 18yrs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

51%

59%

75%

30% 27%

18%

Regular Occasional

% o

f you

ng p

eopl

e vo

lunt

eerin

g

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?

WHY HAS YOUTH VOLUNTEERINGINCREASED?

• 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

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 = 923Neighbour

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

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

0%

1%

2%

6%

10%

11%

18%

24%

30%

32%

41%

% of young people volunteering

Actual benefits of volunteering

Having f

un

Increase

d confidence

Feelin

g hap

pier

Feelin

g apprecia

ted

Feelin

g part

of a te

am

Making n

ew friends

Feelin

g I've

mad

e a difference

Feelin

g better a

bout myse

lf

Increase

d trust

in others0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%72%

48% 47% 45% 45% 43% 40%37%

29%

% o

f you

ng p

eopl

e vo

lunt

eerin

g

Learning n

ew skills

Improve

d my jo

b prospects

Learning h

ow to ove

rcome ch

allenge

s

Increase

d understan

ding of w

hat can

achieve

Finding a

paid jo

b

Feelin

g I've

improve

d my s

tudy prospects

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

69%

34%31%

22%

12% 11%

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

WHY DOES VOLUNTEERINGDECLINE IN ADULTHOOD?

11 - 18 16 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 59 60 - 74 75 +0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

52%

29%

24%

31%28% 28%

19%

Youth vs. adult volunteering participation

Age category

% o

f peo

ple

Trend in volunteering by age

YPiS, 2016, n=1,550

SHS, 2015, n=9,410

See separate ‘Technical Note’ on age cohort coverage

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?

HOW INCLUSIVE IS YOUTH VOLUNTEERING?

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%

Volunteering by deprivation(Based on Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation)

None 0-20% 20-40% 40-60% 60-100%-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

50%

39%34% 34%

16%

Proportion of pupils in lowest SIMD quintile (by school)

% o

f you

ng p

eopl

e

None 0-20% 20-40% 40-60% 60-100%-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

33%

23% 24% 22%

33%

Proportion of pupils in lowest SIMD quintile (by school)

% o

f you

ng p

eopl

e

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

None 0-20% 20-40% 40-60% 60-100%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%62%

48% 47%41%

47%

Proportion of pupils in lowest SIMD quintile (by school)

% o

f you

ng p

eopl

e

Total number of volunteers

SUMMARY & IMPLICATIONS

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

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?