Tuesday 2 October 2012

Thing 22 Volunteering

Yes volunteering is a good thing if you can afford to do it. In my school library I couldn't do my job without volunteers. My employers haven't taken on enough staff to do the job properly, and so I'm having to use volunteers more and more. However, I do agree with the premise that there should be payback, and that valuable experienced should be gained by those volunteering. I do my best in difficult circumstances. From my point of view, it's great to get an outsiders view. New eyes often hightlight issues that I may not have thought of. I train my volunteers to do the basics and they choose the hours that they can commit to. If they have particular skills such as artistic/creative abilities I use them to the full. I do try to make sure they aren't given all the boring jobs in order to keep them interested. Unfortunately, they do move on quite quickly, and the investment of time training is then lost and I have to start again. From the volunteers point of view, there are many hurdles still in place that have to be jumped over before they can work in our school. Not only do they have to the CRB check (as a given), the school insists on them filling out a FULL employment application form and then undergo an interview with senior management. I personally think it's a bit over the top and will put a lot of people off. Surely this red tape can be reduced for people who are doing us a huge favour?! But policy seems to be set in stone. As a means of gaining work experience I'm all for it. It shows intitiative, commitment to the profession and willingness to move forward. It bumps up the CV no end. So go for it!

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