This week Molly our Data and Research Officer visited Newcastle University to speak to Second and Final Year students about her experience as a ‘younger’ person working in the VCSE sector. She has brought together her reflections into a blog.
In order to speak about being a younger person who works in the VCSE sector I probably should define what ‘young’ in this case means. According to the NCVO Almanac 2022, the categorisation of ‘young’ is individuals between 16-24 who currently make up only 6% of those working within the sector throughout the UK. Notably, this is quite a small proportion and we could definitely do better to incorporate younger people within the sector workforce and show them that working in a VCSE role is a really valuable start to your career.
My journey into VONNE was a little more unconventional than some, after I finished my MSc, where I wrote a paper focusing on Net Zero I began the ‘job hunt’ and found an interest in Going Green Together one of VONNE's key projects. I recognised that VONNE is an environmentally conscious organisation which importantly aligned with my core values. At the time, my specific role had actually just closed and recruitment was unsuccessful, thankfully with a bit of bravery from myself and flexibility from the VONNE team I managed to secure an interview and became successful within the hiring process. Initially the responsibilities and opportunities within the role as someone who has a keen interest in social research and problem solving with data is what sold me, but what has made me appreciate it most has been the willingness within the VCSE sector to share knowledge, provide advice and support and the trust given to me within an early stage of my working life.
At VONNE I feel that I am respected and valued within my role, which has led me to feel empowered to make important team decisions and contribute to projects which affect the whole organisation. I am never seen as someone that is ‘new’ to the sector or ‘only a graduate’ but my opinion and unique outlook is valued as I can bring something different to the table. This has allowed me to learn and grow very quickly and I feel confident that if I do make a mistake it truly isn’t the end of the world and is actually quite normal for someone in their first job- or like Carol would say ‘no one died!’ I know that if I had taken a more common path into the working world like many other young people do, I may not have been given the opportunity to be a part of such diverse projects and been influential in larger decisions that are being made.
What I am trying to say is working within the VCSE sector as a younger person is a really great opportunity to develop skills quickly, learn and grow massively in confidence. From my short time here at VONNE I have already been made aware of my strengths and expertise (a word I would have never associated with myself) and I truly think that there are so many more opportunities for young people to have the same valuable experiences that I have had by beginning my work within the VCSE sector.
If working within a VCSE sector organsiation sounds like something youd like to be a part of, check out our Job Finder today !