The Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) is a hugely diverse sector, made up of over 190,000 registered charities in the UK alone, plus a large number of unregistered non-profit organisations, associations and community groups. More than 600,000 people are employed in the VCS and it is a popular choice for people wanting to work in a sector where they can not only use their skills, but also identify with the values of their organisation. This workforce is more than matched by the number of volunteers – in fact, to replace the contribution of formal volunteers in the UK it would take an investment of £25.4 billion, the estimated salary of 1.1 million workers on an average salary.
Broadly speaking the sector can be said to consist of organisations that are:
As well as general charities the VCS includes community organisations and groups as well as social enterprises.
Within North Yorkshire a dynamic and vibrant voluntary and community sector provides a vast range of services and opportunities. The sector is a major service provider in health and social care, leisure and recreation, play and youth work, education and life long learning, advice and information, environment, arts, housing, economic and community development, community safety and criminal justice, heritage and animal welfare. In real terms, this means a huge number of agencies - the York and North Yorkshire Database for the VCS currently has over 3,000 records for voluntary and community organisations of all sizes.
Real Life Jobs
Here are a selection of day in the life of stories from people who work in the voluntary and community sector.
