Making Volunteering Count: SCI Austria Joins Forces on C-IVS Skills Certification ✊🕊️
Every year, thousands of young people travel abroad to volunteer through International Voluntary Service (IVS). They return home with new languages, deepened intercultural understanding, leadership skills, and a stronger sense of global citizenship. But how do we prove that learning? How do we make sure universities and employers see the real value of what these volunteers have achieved?
That question lies at the heart of C-IVS Skills, an Erasmus+ funded project coordinated by CCIVS (Civil Society International Volunteer Service), in which SCI Austria is excited to participate. Running from January 2026 to September 2028, the project aims to bridge the gap between experiential learning and formal recognition by developing a shared certification framework for competences gained through international volunteering.
What are C-IVS Skills? The project has developed a structured framework comprising 29 distinct competences across seven key clusters, ranging from autonomy and resilience to communication, cooperation, and global understanding. Each competence is assessed and describes the acquired capacities, making it possible to document exactly what a volunteer has learned in a way that is comparable and verifiable.
Crucially, this framework is aligned with major European and African qualification standards, including the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and ESCO. The ultimate goal is to allow certificates to be shared via recognized platforms like Europass, LinkedIn, and Youthpass, giving young people a tangible credential they can use in job applications or university admissions.
Our Role: Local Action and Advocacy! As one of the 17 partner organizations in the consortium—which includes grassroots IVS groups from Southern Africa and Europe, as well as major networks like ICYE and SCI—SCI Austria is actively shaping the local implementation. We are planning dedicated youth participation activities to ensure that the voices of Austrian volunteers are central to the development and testing of this new system. Furthermore, we will organize advocacy actions aimed at local stakeholders. Our mission is to persuade institutions, universities, and companies to recognize non-formal learning as a valuable asset. We want to move beyond the idea that volunteering is just a “nice experience” and establish it as a serious source of professional and academic competency.
A Call to Institutions and Companies: This project is about building a network of recognition. To succeed, we need the buy-in of those who hire and educate.
Are you a university looking for innovative ways to integrate field learning into your curriculum? Are you a private company interested in recruiting candidates with proven intercultural and soft skills, or in offering meaningful corporate volunteering opportunities to your employees?
We invite you to get involved. By recognizing the C-IVS certification, you can help validate the hard work of our volunteers and tap into a pool of young people equipped with adaptable, future-ready skills.
The C-IVS digital certification platform is currently in development and will be available from late 2026. In the meantime, contact long-term@sciaustria.org if you are interested in partnering or learning more about how your institution can support this initiative in Austria!
Let’s work together to make sure the skills gained through volunteering are seen, valued, and rewarded.✨
Co-funded by the European Union and the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), or the Council of Europe. Neither the European Union, EACEA, nor the Council of Europe can be held responsible for them.
