Volunteer It Yourself (VIY)
Volunteer It Yourself (VIY) combines volunteering and DIY by challenging young people aged 16-24 to learn trade and building skills on the job, by committing to help fix local youth and community centres, grassroots sports clubs and other community facilities in need of repairs, refurbishment and improvement.
VIY launched in 2011 and to date, over 700 youth and community buildings across England and Wales have been repaired/refurbished involving 13,000 young people and 1,100 trade skills mentors, with more than 5000 young people gaining a City & Guilds accreditation.About our UKSPF project
Between July 2024 and March 2025, VIY will be supporting local young people with skill development and qualifications by engaging them as volunteers to support the refurbishment of three community venues and spaces in the city. Through a variety of works, VIY will look to support the venues to improve their functionality and usability, enabling them to engage new audiences, support their existing members with new and/or improved services and to increase the venues’ confidence for their future sustainability.
The majority of young people who take part with VIY are disengaged or excluded (or at risk of disengagement/exclusion) from mainstream education and training, and/or unemployed. VIY participants are mentored by professional tradespeople and work towards gaining City & Guilds vocational accreditations as well as where possible, access to further training, work placement and employment progression opportunities.
VIY is about instilling ambition and building confidence, offering young people the opportunity to discover an alternative way of gaining skills and qualifications, and introducing them to the opportunities that the trade and construction sector offers.
The young people we work with are referred into VIY by relevant organisations local to each VIY project site, including local authority youth services and care leaver teams and Jobcentre Plus.
In addition to the young volunteers, we also look to engage other local volunteers to support the projects, enabling residents to take an active stake in their community and develop ownership and a sense of pride for local places and spaces they currently use or could use and benefit from.
Contact details
Katie Booth