In a world where young people are under increasing pressure to find employment and become financially independent, the value of volunteering is often overlooked. Many young people understandably want a salary because money is necessary to meet daily needs, support families and build a better future. However, the pursuit of immediate income should not make young people underestimate the long-term value of experience, skills, relationships and character.
Money can solve an immediate problem, but experience can create opportunities for a lifetime.
Volunteering is therefore more than simply offering one’s time without immediate financial compensation. When approached with commitment and a willingness to learn, it can become a practical pathway to employment, entrepreneurship, leadership and personal transformation.
For many young people, the greatest challenge is not necessarily a lack of ambition. It is a lack of experience.
Employers often ask young applicants for previous experience, practical skills and evidence that they can work effectively with others. Yet how can a young person gain experience when every opportunity appears to demand that experience already exists? Volunteering can help to break that cycle.
A young person who volunteers with a media organisation, school, hospital, non-governmental organisation, community project, business or professional institution can gain exposure to real working environments. They learn how organisations function, how people communicate, how responsibilities are assigned, how problems are solved and how deadlines are respected.
These lessons may not immediately appear on a payslip, but they can become extremely valuable in the future.
EXPERIENCE IS AN INVESTMENT
Young people should learn to distinguish between earning money and building value.
There are moments when taking a job simply because it pays is necessary, particularly when someone has financial responsibilities. But there are also seasons when accepting an opportunity primarily for the experience, training and exposure it provides may be the wiser investment.
A young person may volunteer today and acquire skills that qualify them for a better-paying position tomorrow. They may meet a professional who becomes a mentor, discover a talent they did not know they possessed, or develop the confidence required to establish their own enterprise.
This is why experience can sometimes be worth more than immediate money.
Money spent today can disappear tomorrow through food, transportation, rent, bills or other necessities. Experience, however, can continue producing value long after the opportunity has ended.
A young person who learns how to manage a project, operate equipment, write professionally, communicate with clients, organise an event, conduct research, manage social media, produce content, keep records or work within a team has acquired assets that can be carried into future employment.
VOLUNTEERING IS NOT INFERIORITY
There is sometimes a misconception that volunteering means accepting exploitation or admitting that one’s work has no value. That should not be the case.
Good volunteering should provide an opportunity to learn, contribute, develop skills and build professional networks. Young people should also understand their rights and recognise the difference between a genuine learning opportunity and an organisation that simply takes advantage of free labour.
Volunteers should ask questions: What will I learn? Who will supervise me? What responsibilities will I have? Will I receive training? Can I develop a portfolio or reference from this experience? Will the organisation expose me to people and opportunities that can contribute to my professional development?
When the answers are positive, volunteering can become an important part of a young person’s career journey.
APPRENTICESHIP: LEARNING WHILE SERVING
The principle is similar to apprenticeship. For generations, people have learned valuable trades and professions by working alongside individuals who already possess the knowledge and experience they seek. An apprentice may begin with little understanding of the business but gradually learns through observation, practice, correction and responsibility.
The apprentice may not begin with the income of the master, but they are receiving something that can eventually become more valuable than the first payment: a skill they can use to earn independently.
A person who learns tailoring, carpentry, electrical work, mechanics, catering, photography, journalism, information technology, construction, beauty services or another practical profession is building productive capacity.
The goal should not be to remain an apprentice forever. The goal should be to learn well enough to become competent, independent and eventually capable of creating opportunities for others.
YOUNG PEOPLE MUST LEARN TO THINK BEYOND THE FIRST PAYCHEQUE Our young people deserve employment, decent wages and opportunities for economic advancement. Governments, businesses, development organisations and other institutions must continue working to create those opportunities.
At the same time, young people must also prepare themselves to take advantage of the opportunities that become available.
A certificate may open a door, but practical experience can determine whether a person knows what to do after entering.
This is why volunteering should be taken seriously by young people. It provides an opportunity to move from theory to practice and from observation to responsibility.
Someone who spends six months volunteering in an organisation may leave with a stronger CV, professional references, practical knowledge and relationships that can help them secure employment. Another person may use the same experience to identify a business opportunity and become an entrepreneur.
The outcomes can be significant when the individual approaches the opportunity with discipline.
SERVE WITH PURPOSE
Volunteering should not mean working without purpose.
Young people should volunteer strategically. They should identify areas in which they want to develop and seek opportunities that expose them to those fields. Someone interested in journalism should seek experience in media. A person interested in business should learn from businesses. Someone interested in development should participate in community or development programmes.
The question should not only be, “How much will I be paid?”
It should also be, “What will I learn, whom will I meet, what problem will I help solve, and what will this experience make me capable of doing tomorrow?”
Those questions can change the way a young person sees opportunity.
TRANSFORMATION BEGINS WITH SERVICE Volunteering also develops qualities that cannot always be taught in a classroom. It can teach punctuality, patience, teamwork, accountability, communication and responsibility. It exposes young people to different personalities and circumstances and can help them understand that professional success is rarely achieved alone.
More importantly, volunteering encourages a culture of contribution.
A young person who begins by helping someone else’s organisation succeed may eventually acquire the knowledge and confidence to establish something of their own. They may become an employer rather than only an employee.
That transformation is valuable not only to the individual but also to society.
Africa has a young population with enormous potential, but potential becomes meaningful when it is converted into skills, productive work, innovation and responsible leadership. We cannot build a strong economy if young people are prepared only to search for jobs. We must also prepare them to create value, solve problems and eventually create employment for others.
THE FORTUNE BEYOND MONEY
Money is important. We should never romanticise poverty or suggest that young people should accept unfair treatment simply because an opportunity is called volunteering. But we must also teach young people that not every valuable opportunity pays immediately.
Some opportunities pay in knowledge. Others pay in experience, confidence, relationships, exposure and professional credibility. Those forms of payment may not appear in a bank account, but they can eventually produce financial rewards far greater than the immediate amount someone might have received.
The young person who volunteers today may become the professional who employs others tomorrow.
The apprentice who learns a trade today may become the business owner who trains twenty apprentices tomorrow.
The volunteer who serves faithfully today may become the leader who transforms an institution tomorrow.
Therefore, young people should not measure every opportunity solely by what it can put in their pockets today. They should also consider what it can build within them for tomorrow.
Money can address an immediate need, but experience can become a fortune.
And sometimes, the most valuable first step towards employment is not waiting for someone to give you a job, but being willing to serve, learn, contribute and become valuable enough that opportunity begins looking for you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Moses Kay Fembeh is a young African advocate of service, apprenticeship and mentorship. His commitment to volunteering is reflected in his work with Heroes Media Group, which he believes has grown through God’s grace, service and the willingness to learn and serve others.
He learnt the value of humility and mentorship from his parents and grandparents. He remembers his late maternal grandfather advising him: “Whichever industry you find yourself in the future, see those people as your teachers and elders. Learn from them, observe them and remain grounded, but never surrender your independence.” This philosophy continues to shape his approach to leadership, service and personal development.
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