Summary
In September 2012 we were commissioned by WorldSkills UK to deliver The Skills Show Volunteer Development programme. The programme consisted of The City & Guilds Level 1 Award in Preparation for Event Volunteering, first aid qualification, Sports Makers workshop and volunteering at WorldSkills UK – The Skills Show 2012 at the NEC. We have delivered this for three subsequent years.
Approach
Working with our existing West Midlands partners we delivered individual The Skills Show Volunteer Development programmes in Ladywood, Lee Bank, Coventry and West Bromwich. Job Centre Plus was a major contributor to the referral process across the whole of the West Midlands. We tailored the volunteering qualification to be based on The Skills Show, providing the learners with a wide range of information on their volunteering experience. The first aid qualification was also very popular with our learners as most of them were unemployed and felt that it enhanced their future job prospects. We also developed an online programme which enabled those learners in work or education to achieve the qualification flexibly.
Outcome
We achieved our targets in each of the four years. in 2012 we provided 100 volunteers, 2013 120 volunteers, in 2014 110 volunteers and the final year which had reduced funding for 50 volunteers.