Volunteer to boost your career

When it comes to climbing the career ladder, do you know who youíre up against? More than 22 million people in the country take part in formal volunteering each year which, as well as making the difference to peopleís lives, it gives volunteers the opportunity to improve their job prospects and maybe even land them their dream job.

During 2005, the Year of the Volunteer, learndirect advice is urging people to get involved in volunteering to make a difference to their life and the lives of others.

Barclays Bank is one employer who recognises the benefits of volunteering. They found that, by getting involved in community projects, they developed increased confidence and self-esteem and built hard and soft work skills, such as team-working, decision-making and project management. Managers too found the greatest impact on their staff in terms of increased communication and leadership skills.* More and more businesses are recognising the benefits that volunteering can bring to its employees and according to Volunteering England six out of ten employees themselves, state that they developed new skills through their experiences

Volunteering is no longer only associated with work in a charity shop or helping out in a soup kitchen. Never have the opportunities for volunteering been greater or more diverse. From supporting a search and rescue team, to canoeing and abseiling with a youth group, or being a stable hand for rescued goats to planting trees, the opportunities for volunteering are endless. The learndirect advice line 0800 100 900 can put people in touch with organisations that are looking for volunteers and also provides a free information booklet all about volunteering.

As many people know, the path to a successful career often requires dedication, hard work and, more often than not, practical experience. For Duncan Simpson, a 24-year old tennis coach, volunteering was the way he was able to gain invaluable teaching experience that was vital to his professional qualification. Duncan comments:

ìFor anyone looking to gain qualifications in sports or teaching, volunteering is an excellent and almost essential step forward. It helps to build your confidence, your profile, and technical and interpersonal skills. I volunteered in local primary schools, sports centres and summer ëtaster tennisí sessions for local children, and found the experience invaluableî.

As well as the sports and leisure industry, there are many professions such as nursing, teaching and plumbing and jobs in the audio visual industry that are extremely tough to enter and, often, volunteering can give people a competitive advantage above others. learndirect advice also provide specialist advice lines for some of the UKís Sector Skills Councils which aim to encourage people with the right skills into the industries they represent. SkillsActive is the advice line for the sports and leisure industry, Skillset, for the audio-visual sector and Skillsmart, for the retail industry.

Andrij Slobodian, lifelong learning advisor at learndirect advice comments; ìWe receive thousands of calls each week to the learndirect advice line for people wanting to break into a competitive industry or enhance their employability in their current profession but they are unsure where to start. Our database provides over 900,000 courses and job profiles but many industries require practical experience before they even consider candidates which is why volunteering is such a good option.î

Andrij continues; ìMany organisations are on the lookout for skilled volunteers to support their activities and charitable projects. As well as making a considerable difference to an organisation, volunteers gain in confidence, develop new skills and gain practical experience that can get them a ëfoot in the doorí to their favoured profession.î

If you would like more information and advice on how you can get involved in volunteering projects call learndirect advice line on 0800 100 900.