We launched our annual student survey in February, receiving 1,116 responses from students across City’s schools, year groups, degree programmes and with varying levels of participation in volunteering. The aim was to capture the picture of student volunteering, understand the patterns of current students’ volunteering efforts, and identify barriers to participation for those that don’t. Here are our key findings from the survey data: 

1. 1 in 4 City students have volunteered whilst at City 

We asked 1,116 students if they had volunteered before whilst studying at City, with 23.2% responding ‘Yes’ and 76.8% responding ‘No’. This figure is slightly lower than national data that found that 29% of people aged 16-24 in England participated in volunteering at least once in 2021/22. 

2. 4 in 5 student volunteers are female 

Overwhelmingly, students who have volunteered whilst at City were female (80.1%). It is common in the voluntary and community sector to see more people who are female participating, but this figure is higher than the national average of about 66%.

3. 80% of student volunteers believe they are making a difference 

Student volunteers largely perceiving their contributions to make a difference to those they were supporting and the organisations they volunteered at. This highlights the impact volunteers have on charities and community groups by bringing new skills and experiences, helping services to continue running and being a friendly face in the team. 

4. Only 21% of volunteers found their role through City Volunteering 

Many student volunteers found their role externally from City, suggesting they may have begun volunteering before coming to university or that they found their opportunity independently and locally to them. Within City, students often found their roles through their SU Club or Society, City Careers or Academic staff, from another student or through the Student Hub. This signals the need for City Volunteering’s services to be more widely advertised. 

5. 71% of students volunteer to develop skills and improve their employability 

Although there are a range of motivations being students’ volunteering, the majority do so to improve their employment prospects. This demonstrates the impact volunteering can have on personal and professional development for young people, allowing them to develop new skills in an environment that is unfamiliar to them, as well as to try out something new with low commitment.  

6. 48% of students not currently volunteering were not aware of the opportunities to do so at City 

Almost half of students who aren’t volunteering were not knowledgeable of the services available to them, suggesting that more needs to be done to make volunteering visible and accessible to students. As well as this, the remaining 52% of students were aware of the opportunities but were not taking them, signalling more can be done to accommodate their needs and goals in terms of opportunities.  

7. 92% of students not currently volunteering would consider volunteering next year if given the right support 

We asked students if they’d begin volunteering in their next academic year if they were given the right support: 63% responded ‘Yes’ and a further 29% responded ‘Maybe’. As such, only 8% said they would not for definite. This means that there is appetite for participation, but more needs to be done to encourage students to begin their volunteering journey. 

8. 58% of students not currently volunteering want an increased awareness of volunteering on campus 

When we asked students what we could do to encourage more students to volunteer, the majority responded with increasing awareness of City Volunteering at the university. Currently we offer an annual Volunteer Fair, weekly Charities on Campus scheme, occasional school-specific events, and one-off events on campus. This is a sign that we should offer more events like these, as well as receive more advertising from the wider university. 

9. 1 in 5 students do not feel confident enough to begin volunteering 

Although not the biggest barrier to volunteering, this is one we believe is particularly important to highlight. Although volunteering is brilliant for developing new skills and experiencing new environments and people, it can be daunting for some students if they haven’t done it before or have had negative experiences. This is something we could consider running a workshop on with partners to increase student self-confidence in their abilities to contribute. 

10. Students are most interested in volunteering in healthcare, humanitarianism, mental health, children’s services, and education 

Many causes were mentioned by the students who answered this question, but these five areas constituted 59% of students’ answers. We currently offer several volunteer roles within healthcare, mental health, with children and young people and in education. However, volunteering in the humanitarian sector is difficult to navigate and often involves travelling abroad (which we have previously written about – you can read our guidance here). 

Our longer survey report is available at request. Please email volunteering@city.ac.uk if you have any questions.