New online course for people interested in a career in the voluntary sector

People interested in working in the voluntary sector now have the chance to register for a free online course. The course, starting at the end of April 2005, is part of a pilot project run by Working For A Charity. It is conducted online through Roehampton Universityís Virtual Learning Environment, WebCT Vista.

Elaine Smethurst of Working For A Charity said: íOur training courses offer information and advice to career changers, returners to work and new graduates on how to transfer their skills effectively into the sector and the challenges and management issues they will face.

íAn online course is perfect for people who are not able to devote time to attending a daytime course, or who donít want to spend time travelling to central London. We suggest that participants dedicate around three hours per week for four weeks at whatever time suits them - you could log on at 3am if that is the best time for you.í

This is the second unit in the pilot series and will cover Marketing, Communications (including PR), and Campaigning. Units three to six - to be run later this year - will address the following topics:

Fundraising;

Employment practices and volunteers;

Finance;

and Governance.

Twenty people participated in the first pilot unit, which was a broad introduction to the sector.

To register for the online course second unit, Marketing, Communications and Campaigning, participants should visit the website: www.workingforacharity.org.uk or call Elaine Smethurst on 020 7520 2493.

Working For A Charity is part of NCVOís Workforce Development Team.