The value of volunteering in pursuit of improved employability in the sport for development sector: A case study in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Volunteers are integral to the delivery of sport at a community level and the main implementers of many sport for development (SfD) programmes. However, research into this phenomenon in the global south is lacking. This exploratory study investigated the value of volunteering in pursuit of improved employability in the SfD sector through a case study analysis. Participants were traced from 67 ex-volunteers who had volunteered at an SfD organisation delivering programmes in impoverished communities in South Africa, Namibia and Zambia between 2012 and 2020. Thirty-eight were recruited for the study – 23 from South Africa, 10 from Namibia and 5 from Zambia, and they completed a questionnaire as part of sequential multi-method approach. Twelve ex-volunteers, three in-country managers and two managers from the organisation’s head office were interviewed. The volunteering experience was found to have contributed to a 65% employment rate and a high level of perceived employability, and met expectations of personal development, networking, active citizenship and social validation. It is against the reality of youth unemployment and the quest for survival that the role of volunteering found special meaning as a pathway to socio-economic empowerment and delivered on the aspirations and outcomes of volunteering in an SfD organisation.