Transcript Kent Union - University of Kent

Kent Union
The Students’ Union for the University of Kent
Steph Hughes and Suzanne Payne
Volunteering Projects Coordinator
&
Graduate Employability Coordinator
What is volunteering?
“…an activity that involves spending time,
unpaid, doing something that aims to
benefit the environment, individuals or
groups other than close relatives”.
What counts as Volunteering?
Types of volunteering:
Community volunteering
Committee member
Course rep
Welcome Week Helper
Student Led Volunteering Groups
Student Ambassador
KSCV
Kent Student Certificate for
Volunteering
www.kentunionvolunteering.co.uk
Finding a placement in the
Community?
Use the ‘browse placements’
On this site you can view the various placements
that are available, from sports, raise and give,
media, working with local charities and many more
Or use a search engine such as Google or
www.do-it.org
How to your log hours
1. Log into www.kentunionvolunteering.co.uk
2. Click on my profile
3. Click on my volunteering log
4. Add the date, activity and time volunteered –
click add
KSCV Bronze
25 hours of volunteering
KSCV Silver
50 hours of volunteering
15 minute review with a
member of staff
KSCV Gold
100 volunteering hours
Review
2 training sessions
750 words
KSCV Platinum
Credit bearing module (depending on your course)
Complete 4 volunteering modules across a year
Community Volunteering (Compulsory)
Project Leadership (Compulsory)
University Volunteering
Committee Role
Training and Facilitation
Mentoring
KSCV awards
KSCV awards
Helping others
There are 1700 volunteers registered and over 54,000
volunteering hours have been logged since June.
‘Students are highly valued as volunteers by organisations
and are sought out for specific skills, knowledge and
expertise’ (Bursting the Bubble, 2010)
Natalie – Leisure Development Co-ordinator SNAAP
‘Without volunteers many of our events would not be
able to run as we would not be able to provide the
support and care that individual children need’
What’s in it for you?
Make new friends
Improve your confidence
Gain new skills
Road test careers
Improve your job prospects and employability
Employability
 As a result of feedback via student consultation and
involvement it became evident that a method of collating
experience and the skills gained would be invaluable in helping
students to reflect on and record their activities and relate
them to employability.
 Kent Union are currently piloting an ‘Employability Toolkit’ -
The toolkit is an ideal method of reflecting on any
employment, volunteering and training undertaken and the
skills that have been utilised.
Key Employability Categories
 Communication
 Problem solving
 Team working
 Reflection
 Planning/organisation
 I.T skills
 Leadership
 Positive attributes
 Enterprise
Key Features
 Paid and voluntary work
 Gaps in skills
 Kent Union and Non-Kent
 Opportunities to develop
Union
 Courses attended
your skills
 Produces skills record
Stand Out training
 One-off training sessions
 Last between 1 and 2 hours
 Delivered by Kent Union staff and in the future by students
with particular areas of expertise
 Linked to key skills identified in employability toolkit
 Programme to be increased dramatically for the next academic
year
Topics to be included in next
year’s programme
 First aid
 Leadership
 Chairing meetings
 Child protection
 Managing risks
 Using social media to prepare
 Food Hygiene (online)
 Health and safety
for graduate employment
 Equality and Diversity
Over the summer the toolkit will be merged with the existing
volunteering database to create one system.
Using this system students will also be able to
-
 - Identify a range of volunteering opportunities
 - Log their volunteering hours
 - Complete their KSCV review and submit a written reflection
 - Book themselves on stand out training
 - Record and evaluate any training they have attended
 - Be contacted quickly and efficiently
 The finalised toolkit will be launched in September
For further information
[email protected]
[email protected]
QUESTIONS?