Increase in applications for voluntary work overseas

APPLICATIONS FOR voluntary work overseas are up significantly in the last 12 months, according to two Irish NGOs which organise the placements.

Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), which places experienced professionals in one- to two-year long projects, has seen a 500 per cent increase in inquiries and a one-third increase in applications.

It has had an increase in interest from accountants and business sector workers who make up two thirds of applications. The organisation puts this rise down to increased unemployment.

EIL Intercultural Learning, which organises short-term overseas placements mainly for younger people, has reported a 60 to 70 per cent increase in both inquiries and applications.

The type of people applying to their programmes has also shifted; they are seeing less interest from students and more interest from graduates aged over 23 into their 30s.

“The graduates are a combination of those who have either lost their jobs or have done post-graduate qualification and the employment is not there,” said Kevin Hickey, director of EIL Ireland.

The graduates were mainly from social science, arts and business areas and were anxious to “beef up their CVs” and “stand out from the crowd” to a potential employer, he said.

VSO has also had many inquiries from new graduates, most of whom are not experienced enough for their positions. VSO takes people with five years post-qualification experience as they are generally placed in a training or advisory role.

Many civil servants taking up the part-paid career break scheme are also volunteering with VSO. It has a shortage of primary school teachers despite the anticipated job losses in this sector.

There is a different attitude and a shift in thinking compared to when VSO was established in Ireland at the height of the boom five years ago, Malcolm Quigley, Director at VSO said.

“The way people are approaching volunteering is that there is more to life than money, and what is my legacy and what will I give back,” he said.

The recent increase in inquiries and applications for overseas work does not always translate into places filled, according to NGO umbrella organisation Comhlamh.

With long-term volunteering, there has to be a job there rather than people going for the sake of it.

An increase in volunteering among young people on their way to Australia for work has been noticed by Dr Simon Collins of the Travel Health Clinic, Dublin.

Voluntary Service International has seen an increase in demand, particularly for long term projects between six months and a year, according to VSI co-ordinator Tom Ryder. It has increased the number of places it will offer next year.

A number of information evenings are being held over the next weeks at the Irish Aid centre, Dublin, such as the two dozen organisations at the Irish Aid Volunteering and information fair on September 26th, Viatores Christi on August 29th, VSO on September 24th and a Comhlamh talk on issues and options on October 10th and 11th.