Volunteering England and Jobcentre Plus have joined forces to encourage jobseekers to volunteer.

The agreement builds on the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Volunteering, which proposed that more be done to reduce the barriers which some unemployed people face when volunteering.

 At the heart of the agreement is a commitment from both Volunteering England and Jobcentre Plus to take action to promote the value of volunteering with unemployed people and to remove the artificial barriers that can prevent them taking up a volunteering opportunity.

The Agreement was signed by Mike Locke, Director of Public Affairs at Volunteering England, and Matthew Nicholas, Jobcentre Plus Director of Employers and Stakeholders.

Locke said:

“On behalf of Volunteering England, I am very pleased to sign this agreement to work together with Jobcentre Plus to promote understanding and improve communications about the opportunities of volunteering. We believe that organisations which rely on volunteers will benefit from a wider and more diverse pool of people prepared to give their time, as will the communities in which they are based.”