Volunteering for the CAB

westv

scarleyfarley wrote: »

Hello,
Great that your thinking of volunteering it is definitely worthwhile, do you have a countywide voluntary group near you? one that co odinates local charity voluntary positions? check out your council website for links they are probably many charities near you who may have a position more suited to what you are looking for.
Re CAB's they are all independent charities and members of the national charity the Citizens Advice Service therefore they are all different sizes and have different incomes, the main website is the national one and indicates the types of volunteer roles available in bureaux. But bureaux will not necessarily have those roles available all the time although most are happy to talk to volunteers about what is available. That said any charity offering training will expect a commitment as training is free to you the volunteer but not free for the charity, sadly funding is tight and costs have to be monitored closely.
The very best of luck, hope you find something soon

Well I've looked on the http://www.do-it.org.uk/ website and 98% of the voluntary roles in this area are either shop work or with the scouts.

Re the website, I originally assumed the roles listed for any particualr CAB office were the ones that were available at that moment in time as the information shown is different for each office but I guess that isn't the case.

Minnie-the-Minx_2

I have just applied to my local CAB for an Adviser position so have my fingers crossed that I will be accepted.

Apparently they have a lot of people apply so it can be quite competitive. I hadn't really expected that.

I can understand them wanting you to stay around for a while after training as it must be quite an expense and very frustrating for them if people leave having taken advantage of the free training.

Minnie-the-Minx_2

anibell wrote: »

I was lucky enough to get a paid job and am there still. Granted these are few and far between due to lack of funding but it does happen.

Can I ask what sort of job you got?

I would imagine that they can fill a lot of posts with volunteers (75% I believe) but assume that anything that needs continuity or is Managerial would have to be a paid post as the time commitment needed would be too much to ask of a volunteer.

dandelionclock30

Its o.k to do as something to put on your c.v, for experience and an upto date reference. It looks good to employers that you are actually being proactive and doing something worthwhile to enhance your skills.
You will be meeting new people and they pay your bus fares and lunch money.So if your on a tight budget you will not lose out.
Theres very little chance that you will get a job there as they are very few and far between as a lot of the roles are undertaken by volunteers.
I've worked at the CAB and the way the volunteers were spoken too was shocking, really rudely and abruptly by some ( not all ) of the paid staff. They tended to put up with it as a lot were students and needed the reference as part of their law training. Many people didn't like it and were complaining about how they were treated.
Obviously all CAB are different and people have different opinions of what is and what isnt acceptable and what they are prepared to put up with!