Volunteering as a mainstay of self-governance in the craft trades sector – areas of potential and development requirements

Volunteer involvement forms the human resources foundation for self-governance in the craft trades and thus ensures the practical relevance and legitimacy of vocational education and training in the sector. This article explains the function performed by voluntary participation in self-governance within the craft trades whilst also highlighting the increasing pressure to which this structure is being exposed as a result of changes to underlying motives and to general prevailing conditions. It concludes by presenting results from expert workshops which indicate the approaches which may be suitable for securing the future viability of this system.