'Lord Mandelson should add support for students volunteering to his proposals for making universities and colleges more responsive to student and business demand,' said Volunteering England today.
Commenting on the proposals put forward by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills today (3 November 2009), Head of Student Volunteering Andrea Rannard said:
"Embedding a volunteering provision within a university or college provides a cost-effective way of responding to the needs of business and community, and of the students themselves.
When students volunteer, they learn the skills they will need in their future employment. They can gain both the 'soft' skills which recruiters value, including leadership, communication skills and team work, as well as the 'hard' skills specific to a profession. Volunteering enhances the learning from their course of study by the application of a discipline to a real-life context. Volunteering enhances students' employability.
"Volunteering broadens the university experience and supports student satisfaction by providing students with a diverse range of opportunities. This enables students to engage with the wider community, facilitates community cohesion and helps students to become citizens as well as customers.
"Volunteering facilitates social mobility by opening up new opportunities for students, including those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Volunteering can also support retention by providing opportunities to embed students in their university and wider community."
"Offering a student volunteering provision," says Andrea Rannard "broadens Higher Education's engagement with businesses and community by generating opportunities for meaningful engagement for all parties. Student volunteering can be part of a more holistic Higher Education approach to business that recognises businesses' need to operate as socially responsible entities working with the community."
Volunteering England recognises the value of a cross-sector approach to student volunteering and the need to embed the activity within higher education. Its Student Volunteering Week 2010 be held 22-28 February 2010 and will raise the profile of Further and Higher Education volunteering.
Working with stakeholders from all sectors, the theme for 2010 'Inspiring futures; connecting communities' articulates the value of student volunteering for personal and professional development; and the benefits of the activity for Further Education and Higher Education, private, public and voluntary sectors.
Source: Volunteering England | 
