Challenges of Youth Volunteering

The IVCO 2023 Challenge Paper contains several pressing issues facing youth volunteering today. These include young people performing repetitive tasks, being viewed as cheap labor, and lacking support to develop leadership skills. These challenges must be addressed when shaping any youth volunteer organization to ensure meaningful engagement and development.

Routine Tasks and Lack of Motivation

One primary challenge is that young people are often given tasks that do not interest them or help develop their skills. Repetitive duties, such as office support, registration, or temporary staff replacement, can cause volunteers to lose motivation and feel that their efforts are not valuable. This creates a gap between their expectations and the opportunities they are given.

The study highlights this issue in a quote from an interview with an international NGO staff member based in Asia: “Sometimes young people find certain volunteering activities not exciting, not challenging and therefore not rewarding enough. This happens when they are subjected to routine activities with unclear expectation or direction. As such, there should be a clear means of gauging the level of contribution that a volunteer brings onboard.”

The Order of Malta in Estonia recognizes this problem and addresses it by offering volunteers a range of roles — from entry-level tasks to positions requiring project and communication skills. Volunteers not only perform routine tasks but also engage in organizing events, working with social groups, and providing hands-on assistance. This approach allows them to see the impact of their work, enhancing their satisfaction and motivating them to continue participating. 

Viewing Youth as Cheap Labor

Another significant issue is that youth are often seen as temporary, low-cost labor to fulfill auxiliary roles. Many organizations recruit young people to replace permanent staff or to handle tasks that do not require specialized skills. This approach deprives volunteers of opportunities to develop competencies and contribute to projects focused on social improvement.

The study draws attention to this problem with a quote from an international NGO staff member based in Latin America and the Caribbean: “In many organisations that I know, there is a tendency to enlist the services of young people as a buffer to address manpower needs. Usually, the recruitment of young people as volunteers is an HR function as part of human resource planning… nobody cares much about what kind of skills they are getting or how the volunteer activities match their career plan.”

The Order of Malta in Estonia seeks to avoid this approach by equipping young volunteers with valuable skills. Here, volunteers can develop social and professional skills rather than simply acting as substitutes for core staff. This enables volunteers to gain a sense of their own impact and ensures that their activities align with their personal interests and career goals.

Lack of Support for Youth Leadership

Another key issue is the lack of support for young people to exhibit leadership qualities and initiate their own projects. In most cases, youth volunteer programs remain under the control of senior staff and do not allow young people to take on responsibility or make decisions.

One participant in the study noted: “Unfortunately, what we see in reality is that volunteer programs are developed somewhere by some unknown people and young people are simply incorporated into them. This must change” (youth volunteer based in Asia).

The Order of Malta in Estonia actively supports youth leadership by providing volunteers with opportunities to participate in planning and managing programs. Young people can develop new initiatives and share ideas, which helps them build leadership qualities and a sense of responsibility.

Thus, the study emphasizes the need to reconsider approaches to youth volunteering. The Order of Malta in Estonia serves as a prime example of an organization that actively addresses typical challenges faced by young volunteers, providing them with opportunities for personal growth, engagement in meaningful projects, and support for their leadership ambitions. Such examples demonstrate that youth volunteering can be more than just a temporary activity; it can be an essential part of social and professional development.