Promoting Positive Youth Development through the Volunteer Programme in the Case of NEET Youth
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6549/11445Keywords:
not in employment, education or training (NEET) youth, youth volunteering, positive youth development, Covid-19, volunteer programmeAbstract
Volunteering plays an important role in enabling young people to harness their social skills—social skills that enhance youth capability and, subsequently, connect them with the community in a dignified manner. This paper aims to understand to what extent the volunteer programme promotes positive youth development in the context of Covid-19 among those youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET). A qualitative research method was used to guide the collection and analysis of the data. The study was conducted in the Western Cape, where data were collected from a sample of 30 NEET youth and analysed through discourse analysis. The study found that a volunteer programme contributes positively to the development of NEET youth by helping them to become active citizens and to develop a sense of self-worth. The study recommends that youth workers and adult educators should encourage and support the entry of NEET youth participation in a volunteer programme in order for them to gain valuable skills that are needed in the digital age, such as communication and social skills.
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Accepted 2023-06-01
Published 2023-07-21
