You
want a paid job, so what's the point in volunteering? Well,
there's a lot more to voluntary work than the 'feel good' factor
- it can be a way of gaining skills to help you find employment,
or launch your career.
Thousands
of opportunities are registered on websites such as Timebank
or Do-IT, and with local Volunteers' Bureaux. It's not just
the social care, environment and charity sectors that offer
opportunities either. Volunteers undertake all kinds of work
including peace-keeping roles for the police, and working in
the sports and arts sectors, and overseas.
For
example, the role of Special Constable in the police force
is a voluntary position that can help some volunteers gain
a place at police training college.
Another
volunteer who worked one day a week for a year in the Greek & Roman department of the British Museum, was given a three-month paid post standing
in for a curator. She later returned to college to take a PhD
in Classical Sculpture - a course which relates directly to
her role at the museum.
Voluntary
work overseas and in the UK social sector can also equip volunteers
with 'soft' skills that blue-chip companies look for in applicants.
Sarah Green, spokesperson for Community Service Volunteers
(CSV), which matches people with UK-based voluntary posts,
said, "A volunteer working as a Care Leader for a youth community group for a year could
learn about communications skills, line management, teamwork
and using their initiative. As new volunteers join the group
throughout the year, each will be the longest-serving volunteer
at some point, and they will lead and teach new recruits.
"Volunteers
are placed away from their home town and found accommodation
which is paid for, and given a weekly allowance of 26.50 [November
2001]."
Ask
businesses also about short-term, unpaid work experience in
your chosen career. One international financial institution
provides a small number of volunteers, usually students, with
two to four weeks' relevant work experience in its London offices.
For example a student who wanted a job in Information Technology
(IT) shadowed staff on the IT Help Desk.
Part-time
volunteering can be useful to people who have a job but want
to change career. CSV's part-time voluntary posts include 'mentoring'
- for instance, seeing a local teenager who is in the care
system, for a couple of hours every fortnight - and even on-line
mentoring. Other voluntary work can include joining a one-off
weekend project, painting a community building or restoring
a nature area.
You
can still volunteer if you receive Job Seekers' Allowance though
there are conditions. Ask your local Job Centre for details.
Though
qualifications are still very important, voluntary work can
be a way to gain experience and get a foot in the door. But
volunteering is by no means a guarantee for getting a job.
If that's the only reason you're volunteering, make sure you
don't spend all your time stuffing envelopes!
Contacts
SV: http://www.csv.org.uk/.
Tel: 0800 374 991
Do-IT: http://www.do-it.org.uk/
Timebank: http://www.timebank.org.uk/.
Tel: 0845 601 4008
VSO: http://www.vso.org.uk/.
Tel: 0208 780 7200
