„Da könnte es ja auch ein weniger Ausgebildeter machen“

The social professions are subject to processes of increasing economisation. At the same time, an increase in the importance of volunteer work, also promoted by the state, can be observed. Both developments pose great challenges to the social professions, which are still considered semi-professional “women’s professions”. This article addresses the tension between the growing importance of volunteer work and an incomplete professionalisation in care of the elderly and social work. Two theses are presented based on empirical findings: First, the use of volunteers in the social professions represents a response to deficits in care, which are caused by processes of rationalisation and economisation. According to the second thesis, volunteering plays an ambivalent role: On the one hand, it relieves the workload of professionals, whereas on the other hand, it does not contribute to the upgrading of the social professions, but rather threatens to promote their deprofessionalisation.