Retired professionals may be one answer to tackling the skills shortage in regional and rural areas, according to Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers.
An online survey exploring the feasibility of engaging retired professionals in short term volunteering roles in regional agencies has recently been launched.
PhD researcher Nadine Brayley, from QUT's School of Psychology and Counselling, said there were many non-profit organisations in regional areas crying out for skilled volunteers and retired professionals may be interested in donating their time and talents through either face to face or e-volunteering.
"This study is about linking retired professionals with short-term or project based volunteer opportunities and looking at what incentives and barriers need to be considered to make this work," Ms Brayley said.
Ms Brayley is seeking to recruit 500 people to take part in an online survey, which is open to Queenslanders who are retired, semi-retired or planning to retire in the next two years. The survey can be completed by retirees who are either interested or not interested in this unique type of volunteering.
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Participants need to have professional expertise from a range of areas, such as business development, management, accounting, finance, marketing and promotion, public service administration, IT or human resources.
Ms Brayley said the aim of the survey was to gauge how popular this volunteering concept was among retirees and to gain an understanding of their motivations for getting involved and the barriers likely to prevent their participation.
This information will be used to inform a number of volunteering trials in 2012 and the establishment of an ongoing volunteering service if the trials are successful.
"In stage one of the research we held discussion groups with retirees to get a feel for what would motivate them to head to the country and volunteer or to assist via e-volunteering," she said.
"We found that many retirees were motivated for altruistic reasons. For example, they wanted to help others and, in particular, regional communities. There were also more self oriented motivations, meaning they wanted to do it because it would make them feel like they were contributing to society and they could also enjoy the experience and travel."
Ms Brayley said some of the barriers to volunteering included the costs associated with being away from home and travelling to regional and rural areas and also the concern that volunteers might be taking jobs from locals.
The survey is funded by an ARC Linkage grant and the Queensland Department of Communities. Ms Brayley is also a Smart Futures Scholarship holder.
The survey is available at: www.sparcvolunteering.com.au
Media contact: Stephanie Harrington, 3138 1150, stephanie.harrington@qut.edu.au
