Volunteering at Barnsley Museums delivers success for jobs, skills and economic impact

This Volunteering Week, an evaluation of the Barnsley Museums service reveals that over 17,000 hours were undertaken by volunteers in 2025-26. Those hours have an economic worth of over £230,000 and includes over 420 people taking part.

Volunteers support the work of Barnsley Museums in lots of different ways, like maintaining gardens and parklands, greeting visitors, researching, or even digital volunteering remotely. The volunteering programmes also help those people gain new skills, confidence, and get into paid work. It links to Barnsley’s Pathways to Work programme to tackle economic inactivity and help people find routes into work. 

John, a volunteer, had previously struggled to complete his Maths and English qualifications. The volunteer role at Elsecar Heritage Centre gave John access to training and more evidence of skills within interview situations. He successfully gained employment roles, and is now working on achieving his Maths and English qualifications through Pathways to Work. 

John said: “I am so happy to have had the opportunity to re-sit my Maths and English qualifications. It is important to me as it will help me in the search for future employment ambitions and it is something that I have really wanted to achieve for such a long time. I will work hard to achieve it.” 

One young person, name kept anonymous, began volunteering at Elsecar Heritage Centre in August 2025. She used historic objects to chat to visitors, developed confidence in visitor experience skills, and even researched and delivered part of a public talk for a Heritage Open Days event.

She said: “I was grateful for the unique opportunity to expand my skills through interesting projects such as the Heritage Open Days. I felt trusted and empowered to work independently and supported with sessions to rehearse. It’s been a great way to gain confidence, and it’s really helped me with my future job opportunities.” 

As part of the collaboration between Barnsley Museums and Pathways to Work, she also undertook a First Aid training course. She’s now been successful in gaining a role as a Visitor Services Assistant at Barnsley Museums.

Matt O’Neill, Executive Director for Place, said: “Volunteers do tremendous work across Barnsley, and play an important role in our communities. It’s great to see the impact they’ve had for Barnsley Museums in particular, and how we work together with programmes such as Pathways to Work to give volunteers training and support to get back into work.”