Restless Development conducted its Annual Young Leaders survey with current volunteers and alumni who have volunteered with us and led our work within 2023.
The young people who lead our work are our greatest asset. There are a wide range of ways in which young people volunteer their time and lead our work; from community-based peer-educators and mobilisers; to advocates, campaigners and researchers; to online communicators sharing blogs and social media content.
We are committed to listening to their feedback on their experience with Restless Development and improving our support. In 2023, 331 young leaders shared their motivation for working with us and provided recommendations and suggestions to improve their experience.
Key Findings:
- The most popular motivation for young leaders to volunteer with Restless Development is to gain new skills (88%) and to develop as a leader (86%).
- An increasing proportion of young people are motivated to volunteer because they thought it would help them secure a job (65% compared to 56% in 2022). This may be indicative of the challenging economic climate young people are facing.
- The training provided by Restless Development has been consistently rated as excellent or good between 2020-2023, but there needs to be a focus on ensuring that young leaders feel safe whilst working with us and have the necessary resources to fulfil their role.
- 99% of young leaders feel that Restless Development has supported them to develop as a leader.
- 100% of young leaders feel proud to volunteer with Restless Development and feel that their contributions are recognised, respected and valued.
Recommendations and suggestions:
- Restless Development hubs need to consider practical ways by which they can support young people in their leadership journey, both during and after their engagement.
- Restless Development needs to continue to prioritise the safety of its young leaders during their engagement with the agency, exploring the actions suggested in the main report.
- Young Leaders have identified adequate compensation for their time as one of the ways by which Restless Development can support them better.
- Young Leaders are looking for Restless Development to provide linkages to employment opportunities after volunteering with the agency.
Interested to learn more about the experiences of young people working with us?
