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The Volunteer Selection Process

VSA has a very thorough selection process. Potential volunteers are asked to complete an application form, and their details are then placed on a database of prospective volunteers.

Recruitment takes place all year around. When VSA receives a request from an employer, all suitable candidates on the database are contacted and given the opportunity to apply. The jobs are also advertised in local daily newspapers throughout New Zealand, and on this website.

Candidates with the best skills for the job are invited to VSA, in Wellington, for two days of assessment interviews and discussions.

The selected volunteer receives a comprehensive two-part pre-departure briefing. Language and culture training is provided when the volunteer arrives in the country they will be working in.

Throughout the assignment, VSA stays in regular contact with the partner organisation and the volunteer to ensure the assignment is progressing well. In addition, VSA is available if needed at any time during the assignment.

The partner organisation is responsible for each volunteer from the moment they enter their country, and for the duration of the assignment. They brief the volunteer about their workplace, provide direction, and monitor the volunteer’s work.

VSA for younger New Zealanders

VSA’s focus is on the development needs of people living in poverty in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. The kinds of needs faced, and the ways in which New Zealanders can help, are quite intense and require high levels of skills and experience. This means that in most cases, younger people don’t have what’s required by our partners overseas. HOWEVER….

If you’re over 18, think about taking part in Addventure VSA or a programme like Students Partnership Worldwide (www.spw.org).
AVI, or Australian Volunteers International, has a Volunteer Youth Program offering 10 week long opportunities (see www.australianvolunteers.com ).
You are enrolled at Otago University and have been studying Geography, then you could become a VSA UniVol. VSA finds placements for several VSA UniVols each year who have finished at least three years of study. These volunteers go overseas for around nine months.
Read Volunteering Overseas: Your guide to volunteering in a developing country. This booklet will direct you to some links where you can find out about opportunities for younger volunteers. (PDF)
Keep VSA in mind as something to do in your future. Have a look at the types of assignments VSA recruits for. For some assignments a qualification and just a few years work experience in a specialty field is enough to secure a position. At any one time, VSA usually has several VSA volunteers who are in their mid-late twenties.

What’s important for you now is to understand how volunteering works, and for you to retain your interest and enthusiasm towards doing something. Don’t lose interest just because opportunities might not be available right now. Good volunteer types are precious and few!