Modern Youth Volunteer Participation as an Extension of Professional and Personal Development

The development of volunteer activities among young people is one of the important tasks of the state’s youth policy. New areas of volunteer participation are also emerging, creating a horizon of perspectives for the professional and personal development of young people. The relevance of the young people's opinion survey and their expectations, their readiness for active inclusion in the opening new areas of volunteering application is due to the need to consider the motivation of young people, their needs and self-assessment in order to create conditions for the development of this sphere. The purpose of the study is to determine the level of awareness and determine the priorities of young people in relation to areas of volunteering. Based on the analysis of secondary data and the results of sociological surveys, characteristics of the position of young people in relation to the importance of volunteering in all the diversity of this activity implemented today were obtained, a range of attractive forms and areas of volunteering was identified as a priority, and problem areas were identified. The study used sociological methods of online surveys conducted on a random sample of respondents from among young people; SPbPU students took an active part in the survey.
The results obtained made it possible to determine that, along with traditional volunteer practices related to the provision of social assistance, young people are attracted by opportunities to develop their communication and management skills within the framework of event-based, cultural, environmental and digital volunteering. The motivational side is also undergoing a change; the pragmatic motive for acquiring relevant skills and competencies that are in demand in modern economic relations and the requirements of the employment sector sounds more clearly in it. The conclusions obtained in the course of the study are important for improving the sociological study of young people, their new characteristics as a subject in the labor market, as well as in the development of volunteer practices in the process of training in educational organizations in order to obtain relevant professional and personal skills for young people within the framework of mastering educational programs and to strengthen the effectiveness and quality of training in accordance with the new criteria of professional selection.