How tech-savvy students are embracing workforce management - Rosterfy
How university and college students are embracing technology to enhance the volunteer and workforce experience.
Discover how student volunteering boosts professional development and community engagement. Learn how to streamline your university’s volunteer programs.
Student volunteering is an important rite of passage for many young people, providing important opportunities for personal growth, community connection and career development. Although overall participation in student volunteering has declined since the pandemic, there remains a strong interest in certain areas such as animal welfare and health. So how do we look to change this? What is important to students and what do they want from their volunteer experience?
As an educational institution, universities have the unique opportunity to revitalise impactful volunteer programs. Student volunteers bring fresh perspectives, energy and a willingness to make a difference in their communities.
Organising student volunteer programs not only benefits the community but also contributes to professional development and employability skills for students. Volunteering helps build leadership abilities and offers practical experience that can be invaluable when students enter the workforce. Engaging students in volunteer work can also improve local and national community connections, fostering a stronger sense of solidarity and social responsibility. It also provides a great opportunity for students to make connections and build their own community, which is incredibly important to ensuring a positive on-campus experience.
By prioritising volunteer programs and providing resources and support and engaging your student volunteers, you can create meaningful experiences for students. Implementing a centralised volunteer management solution like Rosterfy can streamline these opportunities, ensuring compliance and efficient onboarding.
Student volunteering involves students giving their time and skills to help others without financial gain. This can include internal opportunities like assisting during Open Days or external activities such as joining a community group.
There are different forms of volunteering, some of which naturally complement day-to-day activities at universities. These may include:
Student volunteering is unique as it focuses on helping students develop both personally and professionally. It often takes place in school settings and is youth-focused, although the choice of causes may change depending on who organises the program.
For instance, activities like tutoring younger peers or environmental campaigns will often be organised by the entire university. Meanwhile, individual departments might invest in programs related to their subject matter, like a biology department organising commitments at an animal shelter. Reports like those published by Volunteering Australia can provide great insights into preferred volunteering activities of student volunteers.
Investing in student volunteering offers many benefits for students, including:
Motivations for volunteering can include wanting to make a difference, gaining valuable experience or feeling a sense of achievement.
Therefore, supporting student volunteers in those goals can lead to increased confidence and resilience. By encouraging students to volunteer, you help them grow into well-rounded individuals ready for future challenges. It also dramatically increases their likelihood of having a positive experience on campus, which is incredibly important.
Volunteering provides a wealth of benefits that can significantly contribute to your students’ professional development, thus complementing the curriculum or extracurricular activities. With a more structured framework guided by academic advisors, volunteer programs can help students gain even more essential skills that are highly valued by employers.
Volunteering often involves working with diverse groups, which can broaden students’ perspectives and improve their interpersonal skills. It also allows them to apply acquired skills in real-world situations, helping them feel more capable and independent than in simulated scenarios. Successfully completing challenging projects can increase your self-confidence and prepare you for future career responsibilities. To support academic advisors and volunteer managers in facilitating these personal journeys, Rosterfy provides tools to engage volunteers through personalised content in the form of two-way communication.
Volunteer experience is a great addition to job applications and resumes. Enterprises appreciate applicants who have dedicated their time to helping others, as it aligns with their goals for career development and social responsibility strategies. As a result, participating in volunteer activities can provide students with experience that is directly relevant to their future careers. For instance, serving on a committee can enhance their facilitation skills, making them more attractive to potential employers.
Consider this: How does your university keep track of your student volunteers contributions? Are different departments recording hours separately?
Systems like Rosterfy provide a central resource for both administrators and volunteers to quickly view hours volunteered, which provides a great resource for students when looking to build up their resume with accurate information. Learn more about Rosterfy’s student volunteer portals here.
It also allows for opportunities for engagement from administrators with the ability to acknowledge and reward volunteers for their time in the form of celebrating milestones (x hours volunteered) and automated certificates to thank volunteers for their time.
To learn more about how universities can reward and recognise student volunteers, click here to learn more.
Volunteer programs can help your university connect with stakeholders from various organisations and backgrounds within your community, helping students broaden their social network and ensuring positive relationships between your university and your community.
This can lead to lasting partnerships and additional opportunities for collaborative projects. You never know which student might casually mention an idea that later turns into an industry research project.
Case study: Take a look at how Curtin University in Western Australia is using Rosterfy to strengthen their community partnerships and promote volunteering within their community. Read now.
For the collaboration to work, your university needs to ensure that volunteers are onboarded correctly and that documentation, including WWCC, is regularly checked for projects with vulnerable populations.
Rosterfy’s automated onboarding streamlines the end-to-end management of volunteer screening, whilst also removing the barriers to mudane onboarding and repeated requests across multiple divisions.
Rosterfy can even set up auto reminders for expiring WWCC through email, SMS and push notifications via its app so that your university can feel safe knowing your volunteer workforce are compliant within your university. To learn more about Rosterfy’s automated onboarding, click here.
While there are opportunities to receive prestigious awards like the Duke of Edinburgh Award, which recognises commitment in volunteer work, that’s only an external motivator, and rarely the most rewarding one, once students get to experience the benefits of volunteering.
Research shows that volunteering has often been linked to better mental health. Engaging in meaningful activities can make you feel happier and more fulfilled, reducing stress and anxiety.
Now that we understand the benefits of volunteering for students, finding the right opportunities that align with your students’ professional goals and your university’s values is key. Here are some starting points:
Volunteering is a path to enriching your education initiatives and connecting with businesses and your local community. By using these resources, your university can help students find fulfilling opportunities and understand the impact of their contributions.
Students who regularly engage in volunteer programs gain valuable skills and work experience — experiences that are essential for their employability. Participating in volunteering offers hands-on experience that you can’t get from textbooks. Using Rosterfy, universities can facilitate this connection more effectively, ensuring students remain engaged and understand the broader impact of their efforts.
Implementing a centralised volunteer management solution can streamline these opportunities. Services like Rosterfy offer ways to better connect students with volunteer programs, manage onboarding and compliance, enhance engagement through personalised communication and help students understand their impact.
To learn more about the benefits of a centralised volunteer management solution, check out Rosterfy’s whitepaper on volunteer management for universities.
By adopting systems like Rosterfy, universities can ensure their volunteer programs are efficient, impactful, and rewarding for all participants. Ready to see how Rosterfy can transform your volunteer program? Book a demo today!
How university and college students are embracing technology to enhance the volunteer and workforce experience.
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