News - VSNW | Voluntary Sector North West

Contact Us

Voluntary Sector North West
St. Thomas Centre

Ardwick Green North
Manchester
M12 6FZ
Tel: 0161 276 9300
Fax: 0161 276 9301
Email: info@vsnw.org.uk

Voluntary sector employment down 5% in last 12 months

27 September 2011

Minus 5% Employment in the voluntary sector has fallen by 5% over the past 12 months according to the latest Labour Force Survey. The figures for the second quarter of 2011 show that the voluntary sector employs 768,000 people, a fall of around 38,000 employees since the second quarter of 2010. These latest findings signify that the voluntary sector workforce has now experienced two consecutive quarters of decline in addition to the ‘flatline’ witnessed towards the end of 2010.

Early indications also suggest a change in working patterns and pay within the sector. The number of part-time employees in the voluntary sector has increased over the past three months, with an additional 13,000 people working part-time. Meanwhile, average hourly earnings in the voluntary sector have fallen over the previous quarter to £10.14 per hour.

The findings were produced by the Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) in partnership with Skills -Third Sector, the registered charity working to make it easier for people who work and volunteer in charities and social enterprises to have the right skills to make a difference to people and their communities. The findings come as part of an ongoing study being conducted by these three bodies into overall voluntary sector workforce trends.

Keith Mogford, interim chief executive of Skills - Third Sector says:

“Although it might be unrealistic to expect the voluntary sector to be immune from the wider economic pressures in the UK, these findings illustrate the scale of the challenges facing the sector at a time when expectations are clearly rising. If the sector is to deliver vital support for vulnerable communities it needs enough skilled people to carry out the work in hand.”

Both Keith Mogford and Graham Leigh of Skills – Third Sector are available for comment.

For more media information please contact Debbie Hyde
debbie.hyde@oasismedia.co.uk
07956 320 486

Notes to editors

Founded in October 2008, Skills – Third Sector is working to identify and address skills gaps and shortages for charities, voluntary groups, social enterprises and cooperatives. It is working with Sector Skills Councils to open up learning opportunities for voluntary sector paid staff and volunteers, and is ensuring the sector's needs are properly considered and addressed in the design and development of national occupational standards, qualifications and apprenticeships. The Office of Civil Society (OCS) in the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) are providing initial funding for Skills – Third Sector.
For more general information about Skills – Third Sector and its work, please visit: www.skills-thirdsector.org.uk
A National Skills Strategy represents the foresight needed to bring
about the kind of workforce for a professional and thriving voluntary sector. Skills – Third Sector’s public consultation with the sector to develop this skills strategy involves nine regional roundtables and an
online consultation. For more information, please visit:
www.skills-thirdsector.org.uk/research_policy/skills_strategy_consultation/
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary sector in England, with sister councils in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. NCVO has over 8,400 members, ranging from large national bodies to community groups, volunteer centres, and development agencies working at a local level. With over 280,000 staff and over 13 million volunteers working for our members, we represent and support almost half the voluntary sector workforce. (www.ncvo-vol.org.uk)
The Third Sector Research Centre (TSRC) exists to develop the research on, for and with the third sector in the UK. Led by the universities of Birmingham and Southampton, the Centre was established to provide a strong evidence base to inform policy-making and practice. TSRC works in collaboration with the third sector, to ensure its research reflects the realities of those working within it. TSRC is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, Office for Civil Society and the Barrow Cadbury Trust. (www.tsrc.org.uk)
Acknowledgement: we would like to thank ONS/NISRA as creators of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) data, and the UK Data Archive for supplying these data. LFS data are Crown Copyright. Neither the data creators nor the UK Data Archive bear any responsibility for their further analysis or interpretation.