Ministry of the Interior and Safety Prepares 'Standard Guidelines for Volunteer Manager Field' to Accelerate National Official Certification System

Announcement of Research Results on the National Competency Standards-Based Volunteer Manager Qualification System

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 28th that it has completed a research project on the ‘National Competency Standards (NCS)-based Volunteer Manager Qualification System’ and prepared a standard plan based on it.

Since 2019, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has been establishing and gradually implementing a roadmap for the nationally certified qualification process for volunteer managers to secure the professionalism of volunteer manager job competencies.

Last year, job analysis and curriculum guidelines were developed, and based on these, a research project was conducted with specialized institutions from June to establish a standard model for the volunteer manager qualification system.

The newly announced standard plan includes job definitions, competency units, and detailed elements for each competency unit in the volunteer management field, all in accordance with the National Competency Standards (NCS) framework.

According to the announced standard plan, the job competencies required for volunteer managers working at volunteer centers, organizations, social welfare facilities, and others cover a total of 15 areas, including volunteer activity planning, organizational operation, and volunteer matching. These include volunteer activity planning, volunteer activity support, volunteer education and training, establishment and operation of regional cooperation systems (networks), organizational operation and planning, volunteer matching (connection), volunteer program development and dissemination, volunteer policy development, volunteer archive construction, and volunteer crisis management.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety expects the newly prepared standard plan to be used as a standard model for about 60 private volunteer manager qualification systems. Additionally, although there is no official job title of ‘Volunteer Manager,’ it will also be applied to the development of education and training courses for the 140,000 practitioners active in the field.

Based on the announced standard plan, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to consult with related organizations such as the Korea Volunteer Council and the Korea Volunteer Center Association, as well as relevant government departments, to register volunteer managers in the actual National Competency Standards (NCS) and consider ways to certify the qualification officially.

Choi Byung-kwan, Director of Local Administration Policy, said, “The standardized qualification system is expected to enhance the linkage between field-customized education, training, and employment,” and added, “We will continue efforts to improve the professionalism of volunteer managers so that volunteers can be systematically supported.”