Added: 03.09.2010 14:39
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Social services in the future relying more on volunteer worker’s input?

As the number of elderly people in most western societies is increasing and the public spending to fund the growing costs of the ageing population is unlikely to increase, new ways of taking care of social work are needed.

The number of senior citizens in industrialized western countries is growing rapidly. It is estimated that by 2026 some areas in Europe there will be only two persons of working age for every person aged 65 years or over (Eurostat regional yearbook 2008). Even though the elderly of the future will be healthier than pensioners in previous decades, the increasing number of elderly people will be a considerable financial burden for the western economies. Since it is unlikely that all the costs related to care needs of the future elderly people will be financed through public expenditure, societies must find new ways to tackle the problem of growing demand for care services.

One possible solution might be discovering new and innovative ways to make volunteer work easier and more attracting. This might include new ways which would bring together those who need help and those who are willing to do some volunteer work (for instance, an Internet-based volunteer bank) as well as developing some sort of small element of reciprocity to volunteering.

Opportunity: more workforce to social services

Threat: how to ensure the quality of volunteerwork if everynoe can volunteer?

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