A case for skills based volunteering as a solution to the lack of work experience riddle: I need a job to gain experience but I cant get the job due to lack of experience. Skills-based volunteering is defined as: leveraging the specialized skills and talents of individuals to strengthen the infrastructure of nonprofits, helping them build and sustain their capacity to successfully achieve their missions.” - Corporation for National and Community Service

1. The lack of work experience: is
vocational service a solution?
A case for skills based volunteering
By: Ainsley Brown

2. Is knowledge power?
• The typical answer is a resounding yes…

3. Applied knowledge
• “Knowledge will not attract money, unless it is organized, and intelligently
directed, through practical PLANS OF ACTION, to the DEFINITE END
of accumulation of money. The lack of understanding of this fact has been
the source of confusion to millions of people who falsely believe that
“knowledge is power.” It is nothing of the sort!” - Napoleon Hill

4. Knowledge is only potential power
• “Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power when , and if, it is
organized into definite plans of action , and directed to a definite end.” -
Napoleon Hill

5. The value of knowledge
• “Knowledge has no value except that which can be gained from its
application toward some worthy end.” – Napoleon Hill

6. But I have the knowledge…
….well at least some knowledge, based on my education.
…but I lack the experience

7. Experience required

8. The riddle
• I need a job to gain experience but I cant get the job due to lack of
experience

9. How to solve this riddle?
• An answer is….

10. Vocational service
Vocational Service is one of Rotary’s Avenues of Service. Vocational Service
calls every Rotarian to:
• Aspire to high ethical standards in their occupation;
• Recognize the worthiness of all useful occupations, and;
• Contribute their vocational talents to the problems and needs of society.

11. Contribute their vocational talents to the
problems and needs of society
But how?
How do we action Vocational Service?
Skills Based Volunteering

12. Concept defined
• “Skills-based volunteering means leveraging the specialized skills and talents
of individuals to strengthen the infrastructure of nonprofits, helping them
build and sustain their capacity to successfully achieve their missions.” -
Corporation for National and Community Service

13. Empowering people
• Skills based volunteering differ from traditional volunteering because they go
beyond conventional types of engagement such as signing a petition or making a
donation. Such forms of engagement can be limiting, as they only allow individuals
to join existing campaigns, rather than empowering people to team up with
others or to share their talents and entrepreneurial spirit for the public
interest.
• In contrast, skills-based volunteering leverages an individual’s expertise to
address social causes he or she cares about, usually in partnership with a non-
profit organisation.
Skills-based volunteering can make you thrive in the age of robots. Here's how https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/volunteer-your-
skills-boost-your-career/

14. Accessible
• skills-based volunteering is accessible to everyone, who, regardless of their
origin or background, wants to use their talents to make a positive difference
in their communities. This is especially true for young people who want to
find their purpose and have a positive social impact on the world around
them and their future
hSkills-based volunteering can make you thrive in the age of robots. Here's how ttps://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/volunteer-your-
skills-boost-your-career/

15. Benefits
• 1. You’ll save a nonprofit money.
• 2. You’ll hone your skills and gain experience
• 3. You’ll have the opportunity to network
Should You Volunteer Your Specialized Skills to a Nonprofit? https://medium.com/galaxy-digital/should-you-volunteer-your-specialized-skills-
to-a-nonprofit-2be8d4ab3320

16. Civic engagement
• In this sense, skills-based volunteering fosters new forms of civic
engagement and paves the way for active citizenship.
Skills-based volunteering can make you thrive in the age of robots. Here's how https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/volunteer-your-
skills-boost-your-career/

17. Developing new skills
• Skills-based volunteering is much more than a simple combination of
volunteering and skill-sharing. SBV is also about consolidating skills while
developing new ones.
Skills-based volunteering can make you thrive in the age of robots. Here's how https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/volunteer-your-
skills-boost-your-career/

18. ‘Soft’ vs ‘hard’ skills
• Soft skills
• Hard skills

19. Specific soft skills
• Collaboration – Skills-based volunteering activities often require
collaboration to achieve public interest goals. SBV encourages individuals to
both manage their own workload and co-ordinate it as part of the overall
workflow.
Skills-based volunteering can make you thrive in the age of robots. Here's how https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/volunteer-your-
skills-boost-your-career/

20. • Cognitive flexibility – Individuals who do SBV learn how to work on
several tasks simultaneously, both inside and outside their professional
environment. This enhances their cognitive flexibility, which is the ability to
switch rapidly from one task to another, or to master multiple concepts at
the same time. A person who is cognitively flexible is able to learn faster, is
able to combine various inputs in order to produce an original output, and is
able to react to new situations more effectively, all of which are great assets
in an unstable job market.
Skills-based volunteering can make you thrive in the age of robots. Here's how https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/volunteer-your-
skills-boost-your-career/

21. • Negotiation – The ability to discuss and to reconcile differences, and to
reach a mutually satisfactory agreement. Individuals who engage in SBV
become used to working with people from diverse backgrounds. They learn
how to mediate between different positions, and how to overcome conflict in
order to achieve a common goal.
Skills-based volunteering can make you thrive in the age of robots. Here's how https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/volunteer-your-
skills-boost-your-career/

22. • Leadership: Leverage the strengths of others to achieve common goals, and
use interpersonal skills to coach and develop others. The individual is able to
assess and manage his/her emotions and those of others; use empathetic
skills to guide and motivate; and organize, prioritize, and delegate work.

23. • Service orientation – In SBV, individuals devote their time to social causes.
This strengthens service orientation, which is how predisposed a person is to
be helpful and cooperative.
• Complex problem solving – In SBV individuals use their skills, in
collaboration with others, to solve public problems. This advances a person’s
ability to interpret complex situations and to find innovative solutions. This
skill is particularly relevant in an ever-increasingly complex economy.
Skills-based volunteering can make you thrive in the age of robots. Here's how https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/volunteer-your-
skills-boost-your-career/

24. General soft skills
• Creativity – Creativity it is not an innate quality bestowed upon lucky
humans, but a process one can learn. Individuals who undertake skills-based
volunteering are exposed to a variety of challenges that require innovative
solutions. Through SBV, individuals learn how to adopt creative answers to
solve public questions collaboratively. Moreover, creativity is an essential
component of civic entrepreneurship, which requires people to develop ideas
and turn them into specific projects aiming at serving the community.

25. • Resilience – Skills-based volunteering pulls people out of their comfort
zones. It challenges them in a variety of ways and requires them to juggle
professional and personal responsibilities. SBV stretches the limits of
individuals, requiring them to learn new skills in order to overcome
difficulties. This intrinsic feature of SBV boosts resilience, which is the
ability to recover from setbacks, adapt to changes, and thrive despite
adversity.

26. • Adaptability – Learning new skills through SBV makes human capital more
flexible and more able to embrace the rapid changes of a fast-moving
economy. An individual equipped with a wide range of skills is better able to
interpret different roles in a fast-changing labour market, or to change
careers swiftly.
Skills-based volunteering can make you thrive in the age of robots. Here's how https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/volunteer-your-
skills-boost-your-career/

27. Hard skills
These are more technical in nature and will vary depending on vocation and
interest.
However, much like the soft skills can be deliberating targeted for acquisition
and development.

28. Call To Action
• How do you action this….

29. Top 5 tips
1. Make a list of the skills you already have
2. Make a list of skills you want to have or ones you want to improve
3. Make a list the skills required in a job that you are interested in
4. Compare all three lists and identify overlaps and gaps between the three
5. Identify an existing volunteering activity or create one for your self for
acquisition or development of those skills critical to the job you are
interested in

30. • “The person who stops studying merely because he has finished school is
forever hopelessly doomed to mediocrity, no matter what may be his calling.
The way to success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.” -
Napoleon Hill