Community & Voluntary Sector Insight

The community and voluntary sector in Essex includes charities, non-profit organisations, social enterprises, volunteer groups and other non-governmental organisations. It is a broad sector, covering areas such as health, care, education, environment, youth services and arts and culture. As well as often playing an important role in delivering skills and employment initiatives and helping people back into work, it is also a significant employer.

According to a report, commissioned by the Essex Community Foundation and produced by the University of Durham, there are nearly 5,000 organisations in the sector employing 17,550 people in Essex and 68% of these are micro or small with an income of below £10,000 or £50,000. The sector also relies on volunteers and it is estimated that there are nearly 95,000 regular volunteers across Essex. Their work ranges from running local food banks to supporting elderly people, producing almost 7 million hours work. The replacement cost of volunteers, if they were paid, would be between £68 million (at national living wage) and £110 million (at 80 per cent of average wage).

The report outlines that ‘the energy the VCSE sector has at its disposal is associated with, but not wholly reliant on its income. In Essex, VCSE sector income is around £1 billion. When all aspects of sector energy are taken into account (including expenditure, volunteer time, sale of free goods and in-kind support), the financial value of the VCSE sector is almost £1.2 billion.’

Umbrella organisations such as the Essex Community Foundation, Active Essex, the Essex VCSE Alliance and Volunteer Essex play an important role in supporting the sector with aspects such as training, funding and advocacy. Alongside government grants, national charities and private donations, it also plays an important role in distributing funds to local charities and organisations. There is a lot of collaboration with the sector and government or private sector organisations in supporting in areas such as mental health, community regeneration and educational projects.

Although the sector isn’t one of the government’s eight growth driving sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy, it has an important part to play in delivering against policy such as the Get Britain Working plans and supporting people into work.

A report for the House of Lords in 2024 outlined that the sector was worth ‘£17.8bn to the UK economy in 2020/21, according to NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) estimates. It said this equated to 0.8% of total gross domestic product (GDP). The social services subsector contributed the most, worth £3.4bn. This was followed by culture and recreation (£2.3bn), international (£2.3bn) and health (£2.1bn)’. The NCVO also estimated that the workforce of the sector nationally was 925,000 in 2023, with growth in areas like social services. Additionally, it was estimated that 14.2 million people had volunteered at least once but volunteering (particularly amongst young people had declined overall. Funding is a consistent challenge, with many sector bodies calling for increased and more formalised work with government. The government has also recognised the important role played by CVS organisations, in areas ranging from culture, sport, health, work and training.

Partnerships with local businesses and government (Essex County Council and district authorities) will continue to be important and will be likely to present opportunities and funding, particularly through developments such as devolution of budgets and skills and employment programmes. It is recognised as an important part of the local landscape and able to address both immediate needs and long-term challenges. This includes a range of priority areas such as health and well-being and tackling deprivation in local communities.

The report commissioned by the Essex Community Foundation outlines that recruitment is an issue for the sector and that this is most severe in deprived neighbourhoods. Given the wide range of activity the sector is involved in, skills needs are wide ranging and can include coaching, mentoring, management, planning and mental health support.  There are a range of courses available locally to respond. As outlined, the sector is also heavily reliant on volunteers, so ensuring that they have the correct skills is clearly important.  Aspects such as bid writing and co-ordination are also increasingly important to help ensure future growth and retention of staff and skills.

The career platform ‘Bright Network’ has summarised the eight key skills sought by the charity sector nationally and which include dedication, teamwork, communication, administration and organisational skills, commercial, proactivity and flexibility, willingness to undertake routine tasks and in some cases, languages. Similarly, Recruitment Agency TPP cites adaptability, problem solving, collaboration creativity, digital adaptability and continuous learning.  This reflects the fact that the sector is operating in ever changing circumstances and illustrates the impact of other sectors and the wider economy.

Top ten specialist and essential skills advertised in Essex vacancies over the past year (to Summer 2025) helps to illustrate what employers in the community and voluntary sector locally are looking for. You can view further information and detail via the dashboard link.

Specialist Skills advertised                                               Essential Skills advertised

·  Mental Health                                                                       ·  Communication

·  Risk Analysis                                                                         ·  Management

·  Psychology                                                                           ·  Planning

·  Effective Communication                                                 ·  Empathy

·  Personal care                                                                       ·  Advocacy

·  Learning Disabilities                                                            ·  Customer Service

·  Life Skills development                                                      ·  Organisational Skills

·  Social care                                                                            ·  Interpersonal skills

·  Medication administration                                               ·  Resilience

·  Support Services                                                                 ·  Teaching