# Boris Johnson MP launches Student Volunteering Week 2006

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2006/02/28/boris-johnson-mp-launches-student-volunteering-week-2006/
- Published: 2006-02-28T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Student Volunteering Week, launched on February 20th, is an annual week of events
around the UK that marks the achievements of student volunteers and the value of
volunteering to the community.
The week seeks to encourage students to volunteer
and highlights the opportunity that this provides for individuals to develop teamwork,
leadership, time management and other essential skills and apply them in a ‘real
world’ environment.

 

 

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Organisers also hope to highlight the values of volunteering to employers and to
encourage them to support the activity amongst prospective employees.

 

 

A recent survey by the Association of Graduate Recruiters showed that many graduates
lack the basic skills for the workplace. Similarly, a YouGov survey 2 for Edge, 
which is campaigning for increased practical learning in the education system, found
that 71 per cent of employers said that they would ‘always’ or usually consider 
candidates under 25 with poor exam grades but with a lot of work-related experience.

 

 

Boris Johnson MP, shadow minister for Higher Education, who launched Student Volunteering
Week on February 20th, recently said: “Too many graduates are simply not ready for
the workplace, and it is terrifying to discover that some of them cannot even have
a sustained conversation”.

 

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