Promoting Positive Youth Development through the Volunteer Programme in the Case of NEET Youth

Abstract

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.