For many volunteer roles, specific (and often times in-depth) training is required. Rather than making the training just another hoop young volunteers have to jump through to actually get volunteering, create a training program that is bigger than the volunteer opportunity. Sometimes, training isn’t even necessary, but general (and transferable) training could benefit both the volunteers and the program/project they are serving.
What do I mean by making transferable training that is bigger than the volunteer role itself? Here are some examples to illustrate:
- If the role involves giving presentations, make the training about giving good presentations in general, and not just about how to give a specific presentation.
- If the role involves social media, make the training about social media strategies in general, and not just about how to use social media to engage the public in a specific project.
- If the role involves dealing with a vulnerable population, make the training aboutgeneral issues faced by the population, and not just about specific situations the volunteer may run into.
The training can still involve necessary specifics, but as an application of the more general training rather than the entirety of the training itself.
Training that is more general is more transferable, and thus more of a benefit to young volunteers as they explore career paths and develop new skills.