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14 March 2008
Accreditation for volunteer mentors and befrienders
The development of a national award/qualification structure for mentors/befrienders and scheme co-ordinators
Late last year, we circulated a survey to organisations seeking the views of scheme co-ordinators and volunteers about the development of a national award/qualification structure for mentors/befrienders and scheme coordinators.
Over 600 scheme co-ordinators and volunteers responded to the survey indicating the strong level of interest in this issue:
- 97% of co-ordinators who responded said they would support the development of an award for volunteers and co-ordinators
- 87% of volunteers said they were currently unable to achieve a qualification and 81% of those said they would be interested in achieving a qualification if one was available.
Co-ordinator survey results
Volunteer survey results
As a follow–up to that survey, we are holding a small number of workshops across the country to discuss the options for developing an award/qualification structure and to start to identify the key knowledge/skills required by volunteer mentors/befrienders and scheme co-ordinators. The findings from these workshops will be published on the website and circulated as part of a wider consultation exercise.
As part of this work, we will be talking to the relevant Sector Skills Councils to see if any of the existing National Occupational Standards could be used as the basis for developing an award/qualification structure and to obtain their support to conduct more detailed research into the qualification needs of the sector.
Over 600 scheme co-ordinators and volunteers responded to the survey indicating the strong level of interest in this issue:
- 97% of co-ordinators who responded said they would support the development of an award for volunteers and co-ordinators
- 87% of volunteers said they were currently unable to achieve a qualification and 81% of those said they would be interested in achieving a qualification if one was available.
Co-ordinator survey results
Volunteer survey results
As a follow–up to that survey, we are holding a small number of workshops across the country to discuss the options for developing an award/qualification structure and to start to identify the key knowledge/skills required by volunteer mentors/befrienders and scheme co-ordinators. The findings from these workshops will be published on the website and circulated as part of a wider consultation exercise.
As part of this work, we will be talking to the relevant Sector Skills Councils to see if any of the existing National Occupational Standards could be used as the basis for developing an award/qualification structure and to obtain their support to conduct more detailed research into the qualification needs of the sector.
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