A project backed by NCVO will offer paid internships to the over 50s in a bid to boost recruitment in the charity sector.
The charity umbrella body yesterday announced that it is hosting the Charity Interns project for people aged over 50 who might not have any experience in the sector.
In the pilot programme, which will be open to up to six candidates, charities including the Alzheimer’s Society will pay people aged over 50 to intern for them for six months.
NCVO said the project aims to tackle recruitment challenges and skills shortages faced by many charities as well as “support inclusion in the voluntary sector and to counter negative narratives and stereotypes around older workers”.
Older people need to be supported
NCVO said that although internships are usually “seen as pathways for younger people to gain skills, enter work or retrain”, “older workers also need supported routes into our sector”.
“Many people aged over 50 – particularly those currently or recently employed in the private or public sectors – have much needed transferable skills and knowledge but can find it hard to access charity careers. They want to make a difference but don’t know how or where they can best do that,” it said.
“Internships can provide a much needed experience of the voluntary sector and improve their chances of finding a permanent role that works for them and their charity employer.”
Alzheimer’s Society is the first of four internship partners involved in NCVO’s project which will host interns taking part in the pilot programme.
NCVO said Charity Interns is currently “actively seeking” three more partner organisations to take part.
Sector needs to explore ‘innovative ways’
NCVO chief executive officer Sarah Vibert said: “I’m really delighted that we’re hosting the Charity Interns project at NCVO. The voluntary sector needs to explore innovative ways to solve its recruitment and skill challenges, while also working to create a more inclusive and diverse workforce. We can only benefit from exploring new routes to roles in our sector and tapping into this under-utilised talent pool.
“We hope that by hosting the project through incubation at NCVO we can learn from its work, share insights with our members and support the sector by finding ways to help tackle our shared recruitment and diversity challenges.”
Recruiter Charity People, which is supporting the project, will help recruit interns after the opening of internship applications in late June.
Managing director Nick Billingham said: “We are absolutely delighted to partner on this initiative that will have an incredible impact for the individuals involved and could potentially facilitate a change in attitudes and perception across the whole sector. Recruitment remains a challenge for many organisations so creative and inclusive programmes like this will be critical in addressing this.”
Editor’s note: This article was amended to clarify that NCVO is leading the Charity Interns project and will not be paying organisations to host interns.
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