Hurdles to volunteering

[Osem]

Mrs Osem has been volunteering for a local hospice for some time now but can't offer patients and carers the services she's trained for because to do so she needs to be registered with a particular body and that would cost her quite a lot of money. She's already DBS checked, insured and a member of a recognised professional body (which she has to pay for annually) and the new membership won't involve anything new by way of checks, all that happens is that her name goes down on a new membership list based entirely on information provided by but readily available for her current professional body. She doesn't expect to be reimbursed for her time and effort when volunteering, but having to pay for the privilege is going a little too far IMHO.

[Taf]

I "helped out" as an instructor on basic computer courses run by a community centre for many months.

Then I received a letter telling me that, due to regulations, I could no longer do so.

Unless I paid for police checks and a relevant training certificate.

I declined, and a couple of weeks later the courses were cancelled because they had no relevant staff to run them.

Madness.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Taf

I "helped out" as an instructor on basic computer courses run by a community centre for many months.

Then I received a letter telling me that, due to regulations, I could no longer do so.

Unless I paid for police checks and a relevant training certificate.

I declined, and a couple of weeks later the courses were cancelled because they had no relevant staff to run them.

Madness.

Absolutely pathetic IMO as they won't get many volunteers with that approach as they are devoting their own time for nothing.

[Taf]

The courses had faltered a few times before, as the companies paid to provide them appeared to spend more money on admin, and equipment for that admin staff, than on classroom hire, equipment or teachers.

So they were given free time in community centres, loan PC's, and even loan whiteboards and markers.

The one "teacher" I supported for most of my time volunteering only had one qualification, and that was from a course he did with his employers, the same course he was supposed to teach. But his skills did not extend to interpersonal interaction, so he exasperated most.

The company boss offered me part time employment, basically a zero-hours contract on what would now be below minimum wage. I turned him down due to my Carer responsibilities, especially when he said I would have to drive myself around 2 counties at no cost to him. Plus he wanted me to do ALL the admin, including the final "exams" and certificate awards days!

[Osem]

Originally Posted by denphone

Absolutely pathetic IMO as they won't get many volunteers with that approach as they are devoting their own time for nothing.

It's called the law of unintended consequences but IMHO anyone who couldn't predict this would happen is an idiot. They want people to be community minded and contribute something but they then just go about making harder by creating whole lot of costly bureaucracy.

[Taf]

Many civil servants (and local government servants) ousted from non-jobs have been behind this new wave of useless bureaucracy. It's all they know how to do, and the companies they are forming are being snapped-up by the same bodies that made them redundant!

The worst ones I've experienced are the "training companies" employed by the DWP. They line their pockets, give pointless education, then get bought out by bigger companies who do the same.

They love a bit of free voluntary labour until it is spotted by the bodies employing them....