Labour Economy
At VADO, we work to promote a labor economy through the voluntary sector by harnessing the efforts of volunteers to support job creation, public service delivery, skills development, and overall economic growth.
Volunteer work is a sizeable part of the labour force in most countries and makes a significant economic contribution. For example, Statistics Canada recently reported that the contribution to GDP of volunteers in that country exceeded the GDP contribution of agriculture. Yet most countries lack reliable structures and policy framework to measure the value, recognize and create social support systems to boost volunteer work and services. As a result, volunteer work remains under-valued and its potentials under-realized, leaving volunteers, volunteer involving organizations, policy-makers, government officials, and business leaders without the vital information they need to effectively manage and support this crucial sustainable resource for societal problem solving.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its 18th International Conference of Labour Statisticians have officially recognized that volunteering is a form of “work,” with an economic value, and that this value should be systematically counted. In response, many other countries are already counting it.
Also, the Nigeria labour act, in section 74 (1) recognized volunteer work, as labour required in emergencies, community services, and labour that forms part of normal communal or other civil obligations. Today, citizens now engage in formal volunteer work with corporate establishments, and mostly employers in the non-profit sector.
In examining the labour market outcome of volunteer activities in Nigeria, VADO is at the forefront of developing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for measuring voluntary work, and providing valuable data and information on how the labour market is being boosted by the activities of volunteers. Moreover, understanding the impact volunteers have on the labour market could help the government and development agencies create more informed, inclusive and effective institutional policies to support volunteers and ecosystems where they serve.