More charity workers cannot find full-time work

08 Feb 2013 News

The voluntary sector workforce has increased by 9.6 per cent in the year to September, but the number of employees working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job has also increased over this period.  

The voluntary sector workforce has increased by 9.6 per cent in the year to September, but the number of employees working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job has also increased over this period.  

The Labour Force Survey analyses the make-up of the UK’s voluntary sector workforce on a quarterly basis. Its latest figures, for the year to September 2012 finds that the voluntary sector workforce has increased by 9.6 per cent to 793,000 paid employees. But the number of these employees working part-time because they could not find a full-time job increased by 15,000 (36 per cent) over the same period.

Additionally, the number of employees who reported receiving training during paid working hours decreased by nearly a quarter (24.8 per cent) over the year to September.

Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, said: “Investing in staff development can seem like a luxury when time and money are tight, but it’s crucial to keep staff engaged and deliver the best services, and it needn’t be expensive. Taking online courses, joining networks, doing job swaps, and allowing staff time for volunteering can all help develop skills and bring new ideas to an organisation.”

The Labour Force Survey findings are produced by Skills – Third Sector in partnership with the Third Sector Research Centre and NCVO.