The proportion of vacant roles in the voluntary sector almost doubled over the past decade, new research indicates.
A report by the think tank Pro Bono Economics has found the proportion of vacant roles increased from 2.6 per cent in 2011 to nearly 5 per cent in 2022.
The report says charities are also struggling with vacancies classed as hard to fill, with more than half of the charities surveyed saying difficulties in recruiting to such roles were causing issues in delivering services.
“Hard-to-fill vacancies, defined as persistently vacant roles, have more than tripled during that time period, with 57 per cent of vacancies in the sector now defined as hard to fill,” it says.
“That raises a real red flag, not just for the community organisations and charities involved but for the people that they serve, because hard-to-fill vacancies damage social sector organisations’ ability to operate effectively.”
The report says skill shortage vacancies, where candidates lack the right skill set for the role, have risen from 13 per cent of vacancies in 2011 to 38 per cent in 2022.
Figures show the private sector had the most issues in filling vacancies a decade ago, but it has been overtaken by the social sector.
The report says that as of 2022, the social sector had the greatest proportion of vacancies due to skill shortages, at 38 per cent, with the public and private sectors following at 37 per cent and 36 per cent respectively.
In 2013, the same category of vacancies in the private sector stood at 25 per cent while it was 13 per cent in the social sector.
The report says: “If this trend continues, the social sector is likely to lose a progressively greater number of prospective skilled candidates to the private sector.
“Worryingly, more of the current skilled workforce in the sector may also be tempted by attractive offerings from the private sector in the future.
“This will have escalating knock-on consequences for the millions of vulnerable people served by these very skills.”
The report says the social sector has been cutting back on training, with spending falling by 25 per cent for each employee since 2011.
It also found that 93 per cent of the charities surveyed said cost was a barrier to accessing leadership training.
This varies by charity size, with just 52 per cent having a dedicated training budget compared with 86 per cent of larger charities.