Unlock new talent: How can you integrate social action in recruitment? found that under a third (31%) of employers ask about volunteering experience during interviews, and less than one in five (16%) enquire about it on application forms.
This is despite the fact that 67% of employers report that entry-level candidates who have social action experience are more employable.
Chief executive of the CIPD Peter Cheese said that a key challenge for recruiters is that candidates often fail to highlight their social action experience, unless given the opportunity to do so.
He said: “With the difficulties that many young people face in terms of securing good quality work experience, it is clear that social action has a huge role to play in terms of skills development.
“By failing to uncover this experience during the recruitment stage employers could be missing out on enthusiastic individuals who have precisely the types of employability skills organisations tell us they need and struggle to find.”
The report states that ‘beyond attracting talent, showing support for social action at the recruitment stage also helps to lift the reputation of the organisation more widely, as it? fits in with a broader corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda'.
Chief executive at youth social action charity Step Up To Serve, Charlotte Hill said that communities and organisations benefit from having young people participate in social action projects. She said: “This report, with support from businesses and employers, reaffirms the notion of the ‘double benefit’ as young people that take part in social action also gain the skills they need for work and life.
“Encouraging businesses to embed this in recruitment will really change the face of social action participation across the UK.”
#iwill is a national campaign that aims to make social action part of life for as many 10- to 20-year-olds as possible by the year 2020.
