International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF)
Based on self-determination theory, this study examines the indirect effects of skills-based volunteering on perceived employability and proactive work behavior as moderated by competence-based employability. Specifically, we address this issue by a two-wave time-lagged approach and using a sample of 178 international skills-based volunteers who joined the voluntary service program provided by a nonprofit organization, TaiwanICDF. Statistic procedures such as hierarchical regression and bootstrapping analysis based on Hayes’ PROCESS on SPSS 28 were conducted to test the hypotheses. Our findings revealed that competence-based employability fully mediates the effects of skills-based volunteering on perceived internal and external employability. It also partially mediates the effect of skills-based volunteering on proactive work behavior. Overall, this study provides evidence of the relevance of using self-determination theory to highlight that international volunteers need to be skillful and professional in their voluntary service to drive their future career development after fulfilling a volunteering assignment.