Volunteers 'should not be considered a free resource'
Date posted: 06 Sep 2010
Ministers should not view volunteers as being a free resource, according to one expert.
Published by Alison Gamble.
It is important that members of the coalition government do not view volunteers as being a free resource, one expert has suggested.
The Third Sector Management Solutions director Tina Thompson has emphasised the volunteering costs that the government needs to recognise before going ahead with its plans for a 'Big Society'.
She stated: "Volunteers certainly aren't a free resource.
"You need to recruit volunteers, train them and support them, and often it's a mistake to think that they are a free resource."
In the near future, Ms Thompson feels that those operating in the voluntary sector need to be given more support in relation to areas such as recruitment and management.
Her remarks follow the publication of recent Agenda Consulting research relating to the voluntary sector's employment record.
The sector's staff turnover rate reduced slightly in the year that led up to March 2010, the firm's study suggested.
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