Volunteer work is the kind of work that requires true devotion to a person’s personal beliefs. Not everyone can or is willing to devote time to help others in any way without an actual reward. Volunteer work can be very rewarding in many different ways but in most cases, it simply does not pay.
However, if one is to take the time to research volunteer work, they will find out that there are more benefits in devoting time to volunteer than what they might think. The development of skills, as well as the personal sense of accomplishment, are strong tools that can really make volunteer work a valuable addition to a person’s CV.
Volunteer work is not that easy and not everyone can do it. Taking into consideration the fast pace with which the world evolves every day it is reasonable to assume that volunteer work has changed. There are more skills that are needed today to be an efficient worker and the same skills are needed to be an efficient volunteer worker.
Luckily, nowadays there are ways to not only perform volunteer work but actually get certified as a volunteer-worker which will be a great addition to your resume. That can happen by certifying certain important skils both soft and hard that are required for volunteer work.
There are many important skills that one will need to train in order to become a certified volunteer. The European Qualification Framework, responsible to make national qualifications more readable across Europe, promoting workers’ and learners’ mobility between countries and facilitating their lifelong learning has created lists and panels of these skills.
Under the Yech project, the consortium of partners have developed a Competency Matrix that lists the most important skills, of the fourth level, the intermediate skills according to the EQF and has divided them into three different sectors:
- Knowledge
- Skills
- Competences
With the term “Knowledge” the result of the mental activity and internal representation of meanings, events, and actions that can be emanated from professional or practical experience as well as from the system of formal education or training, is defined. The knowledge includes the existing theory and meaning, as well as the tacit knowledge that has been acquired as a result of experience from the exercising of specific tasks (Winterton, J., Delamare Le Deist, F., Stringfellow, M., 2005).
With the term “Skills” the combination of knowledge and experience that is required for the achievement of a specific natural or intellectual project or the exercise of work is defined.
With the term “Competences” the potential of applying knowledge, skills, and know-how so that the individual responds to current conditions and work requirements but is also able to adapt to variable work environments is defined. Competences include cognitive competences (theoretical), the functional competences (skills or know-how), personal competences (behavior), and ethical competences (personal and professional values).
According to the national surveys that each of the project partners conducted and analyzed, the skills included in the competency matrix were evaluated on a scale of importance. The survey included questions related to both soft and hard skills.
The EQF skills can be used as a way to boost your effectiveness as a worker. As a volunteer worker, use the same skills to certify yourselves through projects like the Yech project. For more information, you can visit the project’s official website and keep an eye out for the publication of the project’s deliverables that will show how you can become a certified volunteer worker!
