The Impact of Youth Work on Youth Participation

Youth voice matters. Discover how youth work empowers young people to become active community members, access their rights, and engage with democracy.

Youth work is instrumental in promoting active citizenship and ensuring that young people have a strong voice in their communities.

By positioning young people at the heart of the decision-making process, we help them develop the skills and confidence needed to influence change. Through youth councils, forums, and regular consultation sessions, youth work ensures that their voices are heard and valued.

Youth work’s impact on participation and youth voice extends beyond individual growth. It strengthens the democratic fabric of our society, ensuring that young people are not only prepared to contribute, but also to lead the way in building inclusive, vibrant communities.

Youth Work & Volunteering

In 2024, we published our report on Youth Work and Volunteering, consulting with young people and youth work practitioners to highlight the benefits of a youth work approach to volunteering.

A number of young people we spoke to told us that their volunteering experience helped them to build a stronger sense of connection to their local community. By promoting skills development and community engagement through volunteering, youth work supports young people to become valuable and engaged members of our society.

The Impact of Youth Volunteering

Find out more about how taking a youth work approach to volunteering helps create happier, healethier, more cohesive communities across Scotland.

Youth Volunteering in Scotland Survey

Conducted in 2022 by Volunteer Scotland and Ipsos Mori, the Youth Volunteering: Young People in Scotland survey recorded the views of over 1,500 secondary school pupils across Scotland in a bit to understand their participation in volunteering, both formally and informally.

The results reveal a marked decline in volunteering participation between 2019-2022:

of young people formally volunteer.
of youth volunteers cited wellbeing as the key benefits including ‘having fun’.
of youth volunteers sharing skills development as one of the key benefits for them, and 35% increasing confidence.

Young People in Scotland Survey 2022

Download the full report to get the full picture on young people’s involvement in volunteering in Scotland.

Volunteer Scotland logo