The Role of Volunteering in Transitions from Higher Education to Work

Abstract

Why should we be interested in the place of volunteering in transitions from higher education to work? As Ulrich Teichler commented in a report compiled for the International Labour Office, in the 1990s and beyond ‘transition from higher education to employment has become more complex and protracted’ (1999, p. 5). There is a widespread perception of under-employment, over-qualification yet inadequacy in basic skills required by business, leading to a mismatch between graduates’ skills and employment opportunities. Recent research from the European CHEERS¹ study has suggested that in fact such transitions are smoother than they are often perceived to be (Teichler, 2007, p. 21), with rates of graduate unemployment continuing to be lower than those of non-graduates. In fact, this research suggests that many graduates view their career prospects more negatively than a research-informed perspective would suggest. Despite this evidence, anxieties about graduates’ transition into work, we will suggest, have become an important driver of volunteering within the curriculum and after graduation. This is not, however, to discount the importance of volunteering or service learning within higher education as a form of experiential education, as a means of developing university-community partnerships for knowledge transfer and social action, or indeed as an enjoyable activity in its own right (Strand et al., 2003; Hall and Hall, 2007).