University & Student Volunteering
A 2018 survey found that many employers do not see students being ready for the workforce.
There are 8 critical skills that students need to be competent to be career-ready; teamwork, digital technology, problem-solving, written communication, professional work ethic, leadership, career management and multicultural fluency. Student volunteering is the key.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, students are already in need of upskilling themselves for the workforce and now that the world is facing the COVID-19 pandemic head-on, we will further see the impact of it on students and it’s effect on the quality of their education.
Student Volunteering is the Answer
Students who undertake internships or volunteering during study are 2.5 times more likely to start a new job after graduating than those who don’t.
Furthermore, students whose courses included a service-learning program and those who completed a capstone course had between 16 and 49% greater odds, respectively, of starting a new job.
Communiteer believes there is a part to play in partnering with educational institutions, giving students the opportunity to utilise the skills they have learned and provide the real-world experience.
Via virtual volunteering, students can:
- Build the skillset related to their studies by working with NFPs
- Learn about the different facets of social good
- Network and form connections while building their CV
- Overcome isolation
- And most importantly …. make a difference!
Our Solution
Stage 1: Develop a Mentorship Program Between Students & Alumni
Communiteer will support universities in existing or newly created mentorship program connecting existing students with alumni and university program runners to later collaborate on social impact activities. This will be an attractive offering for future and existing students looking to improve their employability.
Stage 2: Integrative Social Impact Learning
Communiteer will support university program runners integrating virtual volunteering in their placement programs, capstone subjects or as extracurricular activities. By leveraging the existing relationships built-in Stage 1, each group will be introduced to a not-for-profit client with a project on the Communiteer platform. The mentor will oversee the progress of the student carrying out the project.
Stage 3: Creating a Thriving University Community
By maintaining engagement with current students, university program developers and alumni, we can feed this energy into Stage 1 to form a continuous cycle. As students are further engaged with the guidance and support of the university, they will be encouraged to contribute as a mentor post-graduation, growing the community exponentially.
Uni @ Communiteer
We’re building a community on our platform entirely dedicated to the universities joining our platform. See the work of student volunteers, stories about their experiences and details about the different ways universities are integrating volunteering.
View HERE
Testimonials
Resources & Case Studies
As Communiteer is a platform that allows volunteers to give their time, grow their sense of purpose and connect with community leaders, it was a natural fit to participate in this year’s National Student Volunteer Week for 2020.
In celebrating #NSVW20 we created a webinar to promote student volunteering, shared various pieces of content on social media and participated in the University of Sydney Business School Careers Expo.
Read our Case Study HERE
Communiteer engaged with Macquarie University (MQU) MBA students to collaborate with skilled volunteers for the goal of improving bottlenecks within our consultation
process.
This benefitted the students in providing workplace experience and Communiteer with a project designed by
skilled volunteers, increasing our capacity.
Read our Case Study HERE
Further Reading
National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), Job Outlook 2020
Angie L. Miller, Louis M. Rocconi & Amber D. Dumford, (2017) Focus on the finish line: does high-impact practice participation influence career plans and early job attainment?
Join our Growing Community
Collaboration between students, staff and alumni alike for the purpose of social impact.
UOW Economics & Finance Society
Macquarie University
UOW BASOC
UOW Cable
