voluntaryskills.com blog

Answers sought into how VCS organisations have coped with the downturn

voluntaryskills — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:08:00 +0000

Experienced assessor, executive coach and consultant, seeks insight from those working in voluntary and community sector organisations.

Tracey Moore, Development Manager at Newcastle upon Tyne based social enterprise PNE Group, has launched a survey to analyse the response of voluntary and community organisations (VCO’s) to the current economic downturn. The data will help to determine the strategies which are being most commonly applied across the sector and the level of their success.

This reasearch forms a part of Tracey’s MBA dissertation being carried out at Newcastle University. Tracey commented: ”..[the research] is looking at how the sector has responded to the recession and what strategies are having an effect on their sustainability. The questionnaire will take just a few minutes to complete but will really help me with my research. I would be really grateful if you could complete the questionnaire and also forward it to other organisations on my behalf please so that I can reach as many organisations as possible.”

Access the questionnaire by clicking on the link below

http://bit.ly/VCOsurvey

The deadline for submissions is Friday 15^th July 2011.

Announcing the winner of our Service Development survey…

voluntaryskills — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:49:39 +0000

Congratulations to John Routledge of R2 Training – he wins the £25 Amazon.co.uk voucher as he participated in a recent B2B survey commissioned by voluntaryskills.com

Well done!

Survey on charity use of cloud computing

voluntaryskills — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 09:02:18 +0000

Civic Regeneration and Lasa, in partnership with RegenerateIT, are running a survey about how charities and not-for-profit organisations in the UK use cloud technology.

They want to assess the uptake of such technologies at a time when getting better value for money while maintaining service is of paramount importance. The findings of this survey will be presented at the Go On: ND11 conference at Old Billingsgate on 11 and 12 May 2011. Everyone who participates in this survey before 15 April 2011 will be entered in a prize draw.

Even if you are not currently providing / planning on using cloud technologies, the researchers would like to hear from you.

Take part in the survey at http://tinyurl.com/63fomj3.

Source: Voluntary Arts England

Celebrating Success and The Future of Volunteering, 31 March 2011

voluntaryskills — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:07:53 +0000

31 March 2011, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Come along and celebrate the achievements of some outstanding managers and volunteers in our sector. PNE Development have some fantastic speakers lined up from: The Cyrenians, Locality, CSV, The Cabinet Office and Ward Hadaway Law Firm, who will be discussing some of the opportunities and challenges that are facing the future of volunteering in the UK. PNE will also be announcing the winners of their UK ‘2011 Volunteer Awards’ and presenting certificates to those managers who have gained management qualifications with PNE Development over the last year. The event is free; however, places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Booking forms available to download from the PNE Development website.

You can follow the awards on Twitter by search for the #va2011 hash tag or via the @pnedevelopment Twitter feed.

Conference supporter:

Quick Poll – Feb ’11

voluntaryskills — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:45:41 +0000

View This Poll

Update your address book…

voluntaryskills — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:23:35 +0000

In case you were not aware, voluntaryskills.com recently completed its move to new office space at:

Unit 26 Design Works,
William Street,
Gateshead
NE10 0JP

Tel: 0191 423 6262
Fax: 0191 423 6288

Our enquiries email address remains info@voluntaryskills.com

The move was fairly smooth and the team is very pleased with their modern surroundings.

Time for reflection

voluntaryskills — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:30:49 +0000

So far I have found my time working on voluntaryskills.com very enjoyable and I have been made to feel very welcome thanks to all the staff at PNE. The staff here are really conscientious and are always prepared to go the extra mile to help me settle into my position with ease. I have noticed that I have been pushing myself to make sure I perform to standards and to maintain the professional image both voluntaryskills.com and PNE have worked so hard to create and maintain. I have enjoyed working on campaigns, for example organising case studies for the website, and getting to know more about, not only the sector, but the company as well.

It’s nice to be with the company during this period of change because it means that everyone else is having to get their heads around working somewhere new as well as me and it feels like I am not just the ‘new guy’ who doesn’t know any procedures or where anything is but instead like a more established member of the PNE team. I have also attended in-house training with some other members of staff from within PNE which helped me focus my abilities in the right direction to achieve maximum results and also to be aware of my weaknesses and how to build on them. I look forward to the rest of my placement with voluntaryskills.com and PNE because there is still potential to build on what I have already learned and the chance to give something back.

Jake Saunders
(Project Assistant – Voluntaryskills.com)

voluntaryskills.com calls for training providers to reflect

voluntaryskills — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:04:48 +0000

A skilled workforce is vital to the sustainability of the voluntary sector in England. Yet, is this sector often overlooked by training providers? voluntaryskills.com, a leading website promoting learning and skills opportunities in the voluntary sector, is hoping to answer this question by considering the impact of the recession on training provision across England.

voluntaryskills.com is seeking training organisations to come forward and participate in a forward-thinking research project by completing an online questionnaire. The research hopes to uncover the impact of the recession on training providers and understand the ways in which they promote their products and services in difficult economic conditions. voluntaryskills.com also seeks to unearth the extent to which training providers are meeting vital skill needs, such as business management and leadership skills, which have been identified by the voluntary sector in England.

Shaun Nichols of voluntaryskills.com says, “We are trying to gain an insight into how the training sector is coping with the current economic climate and where it sees itself moving in the near future. The results will help influence the development of voluntaryskills.com in 2011, enabling this website to better meet the needs of its users 2011”.

All participants will receive a copy of the report, equipping them with a valuable resource for future business planning. All information submitted to this market research shall be treated as confidential and voluntaryskills.com shall treat all personal data in accordance with UK data protection law.

One lucky participant will win an Annual Membership package with voluntaryskills.com

voluntaryskills.com welcomes survey submissions up until their deadline of 14^th January 2011.

Survey link

A chance to give something back – PNE’s 2011 Volunteer Awards

voluntaryskills — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:10:48 +0000

The 24th of November 2010 was the ‘official launch’ of the 2011 Volunteer Awards. PNE are looking for volunteer managers or supervisors to nominate their outstanding volunteers for a ’2011 Volunteer Award’.

If you manage or supervise a volunteer who is making a real difference to the lives of people and communities in their area then give them the recognition they deserve by nominating them for a ’2011 Volunteer Award’.

This year there are three award categories:

Innovation in Fundraising
Services to the Community
Versatility in Volunteering

Each category winner will receive an award recognising their achievement, a £250 individual prize plus £1,500 for the organisation for which they volunteer.

Nominations close on the 28th January 2011.

Full terms and conditions and judging criteria can be found on the link below in the ‘Downloads’ section at the bottom of the page: http://www.pne-development.org/va2011

The award ceremony and announcement of the winners will take place in Newcastle upon Tyne on 31st March 2011.

Click here to make your nomination.

If you have any questions about the ’2011 Volunteer Awards’ please email awards@pne-development.org or call Sarah Atkinson on 0191 261 6009.

Follow the awards on Twitter #va2011

Invite to feature on leading third sector website

voluntaryskills — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:37:03 +0000

A leading website promoting learning & skills opportunities in the third sector is seeking individuals to feature as inspirational case studies.

FREE promotion for yourself and organisation

The award winning website voluntaryskills.com already hosts several case studies of individuals working in the North of England third sector, who talk about their current role and how training has helped them along the way. The aim of this information is to stimulate an interest amongst individuals to develop their skills or consider a career in the third sector.

voluntaryskills.com needs to update these case studies so the relevance of their content is maintained. So don’t be shy and have a quick look if you are unsure of what they are looking for – www.voluntaryskills.com/realpeople

Shaun Nichols of voluntaryskills.com says, “This is a terrific opportunity for someone to make a contribution to our website, as well as being free publicity for themselves and their organisation in 2011.”

They would be delighted to see if you, or anyone you know, would be willing to share your work and learning experiences with others, inspiring more likeminded individuals to achieve their goals. Interested parties should contact Jake on 0191 261 6009 or email jake.saunders@voluntaryskills.com