Hidden talents: young people and volunteering – A way forward

This is a joint paper between the Local Government Association (LGA) and Volunteering England. This paper builds on the LGA's ‘Hidden talents' publications and aims to start a conversation about the role volunteering can play in local authorities' support for young people who are not in employment, education or training.

In response to local authorities' responsibilities to support young people to succeed in life, the LGA and Centre for Social Justice worked with partners from the private, public and third sectors to develop a series of reports on getting the best out of young people. This paper builds on the LGA's ‘Hidden talents' publications, and looks at how the LGA and Volunteering England could develop their work with local authorities to help support and assist young people into volunteering. To take this forward this paper outlines a number of proposals and recommendations; and looks at how volunteering and informal learning can provide flexible, accessible opportunities for young people.