Our volunteers underpin everything we do and are vital in our work with young people particularly our Volunteer Mentors who work with young people on a one-to-one basis for an average period of twelve months. To support our volunteers we have a Volunteer Recruitment & Training Team whose purpose is to actively recruit volunteers for the wide variety of projects that take place at the Club. The Team recruit volunteers dependent upon the needs of the various projects i.e. we require more male mentors for our Mentoring project as 70% of the waiting list are young males. They use a variety of methods to recruit volunteers from leaflet drops & posters, presentations and displays within companies and sports & leisure centres, open evenings at the Club, articles in the local press, “introduce a friend” with existing mentors and volunteer fairs at local colleges & universities. We also have a Male Mentor Recruitment Team who help on a voluntary basis with recruitment of male volunteers. Each prospective volunteer is then interviewed, screened for suitability in working with children, undertake Criminal Records Bureau checks, obtain references, arrange for them to participate in the induction & core training dependent upon the relevant project they are placed with. The basic core training sessions for volunteers are delivered by the Training Officer and take place during the evenings, weekdays & weekends and can be done either in groups or on a one-to-one basis to ensure everyone has the opportunity of attending. As part of the training programme for volunteer mentors they participate in a number of core training sessions from which they can achieve a Level 2 & 3 Open College Network Qualification in Mentoring Skills. These skills cover: • Understanding of Mentoring • Demonstrates a knowledge of how to create a supportive atmosphere • Demonstrates a knowledge of ways to facilitate a client’s learning and growth • Demonstrates a knowledge of how support and advice can be given to others • Demonstrates familiarity with mentoring and reviewing the progress and personal growth of others. • Child Protection and Safeguarding In addition, the Training Officer also provides a number of specialised training courses for specific aspects of our work with young people:  Issues and legislation relating to “looked after children”  Attachment theory for “looked after children”  Practical Youth Work Skills (which is both classroom & practical based)  Issue based workshops on drugs, alcohol, sexploitation, bullying, domestic abuse and mental health issues  MIDAS training  First Aid – both Appointed Person and Four Day  Supervisions & appraisals  Health & Safety & Fire Procedure Training  Risk Assessments We run approximately 20 training courses per month incorporating a combination of the above subjects with an average of 15 delegates on each of the courses. The Team are also involved in staff training and development; personal development plans; skills audit and outsourcing external training as required. The Team comprises of a Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator, Training Officer and Administrator. They provide essential support for our volunteers who in turn are an essential element of our work with young people, without our volunteers we would be unable to offer the wide range of services for young people mentioned above which looks to help them achieve their full potential in life.