Volunteer Advising at North Somerset CAB Back to Volunteering Page
Volunteer Advising at North Somerset CAB - what to expect
What sort of person is the bureau looking for?
There are no formal qualifications needed to start volunteering as an adviser. In practice people come from all walks of life with a variety of skills which they can put to good use in their advice work.
We are looking primarily for those with an interest in people. We are also looking for non-judgemental attitudes and a willingness to work with people from all backgrounds and cultures.
At every advice session there is an Advice Session Supervisor, who is there to assist advisers, carry out some follow up work and monitor the case recordings. This means that an adviser is never without help at hand if they want some assistance with accessing information or any other part of the advice process.
What sort of time commitment is required?
Due to the nature of our work and the amount of training required before a trainee becomes a fully fledged adviser, we do ask for a commitment of a day a week. During the first stage of the training period the group training takes place on a particular two hour slot each week. After that it is very flexible on which days an adviser is on the rota. However, we do need to know in advance who will be available and when so that we can ensure we can staff the advice sessions effectively.
We do of course recognise that advisers will need to take time off, as do paid workers. We would ask that advisers who take more time off than five weeks a year fit in extra sessions where possible so they maintain their day a week average.
The bureau starts training a group of volunteers every 6 months. We aim to meet with every potential volunteer to explain the nature of the work and the commitment involved before they fill in an application form. The best way to understand what is involved is to attend one of the twice yearly introduction days in Clevedon. At one of these sessions potential advisers learn about the ethos of Citizens Advice and the sort of work we do. They also get the chance to have a go on our information system and see some of the training materials. If it is not possible to come to an introduction day we try to make an appointment to meet with potential advisers to cover the same ground in a whistle stop tour lasting about an hour. This ensures that every applicant has a fair idea of what they are letting themselves in for before applying.
We ask potential advisers to fill in an application form with the names of two referees, whom we write to if we accept them as a volunteer. All applicants have a half hour interview with the Volunteer Development Worker and a member of the Board or the Bureau Director.
A new volunteer starts as a trainee. After about six months they start solo interviewing and become a trainee adviser for around another six months. After this they are a fully fledged adviser, and receive their certificate.
During the trainee period trainees study a training pack a week, which should take 3 – 5 hours. We meet together as a group for a two hour session to discuss the pack studied over the previous week. The aim of this is to consolidate and extend what has been learnt, and to give the trainees a chance to ask questions. It also means that they get to know each other better and begin to work as a team.
Very soon after they start training trainees are required to observe interviews with established advisers. The minimum requirement is two days throughout the whole trainee period.
The training packs initially cover the advice process; the interviewing skills, CAB approach to working with people and issues such as social policy, how to use the information system and how to do case recording. They then cover the main enquiry areas such as benefits, employment, housing and consumer. Advisers do not have to commit all this or any other information to memory; they need to know where to look it up if required and be aware of the overall picture.
Over this period trainees twice meet one to one with the Volunteer Development Worker to review the training so far. This is very much a two way process.
Around six months after starting training each trainee attends a Certificate Course run by Citizens Advice in, for example, Bristol, Taunton or Exeter. This comprises five separate away days where there is an opportunity to meet trainees from other bureaux and consolidate what has been learnt. There is practice in interviewing and negotiating with third parties.
Although this seems daunting, the majority of our trainees say they enjoy the course and come away enthusiastic.
Once they have returned from the course trainees need to complete their supervised interviews.
Prior to starting solo interviewing the trainee has at least three supervised interviews with clients with one of the training team sitting in with them. This is not a pass or fail stage. We obviously have a responsibility to our clients to ensure that the adviser they see is competent, so will not let anyone advise clients on their own who we do not believe at the time is capable of doing so. If we feel that a trainee is not quite ready for solo interviewing we will aim to give them extra support and supervision to help them towards this stage.
Once we are satisfied that a trainee is ready to start solo interviewing they become a trainee adviser. The work they do is the same as that done by established advisers, but it is recognised that they require more support and help from the Advice Session Supervisor (ASS). We also ask that in general they restrict their advice sessions to Weston and Clevedon, where there is more support available than at Nailsea and Portishead.
Over this period of about six months there are three reviews and feedback from the ASS. Towards the end the Volunteer Development Worker checks a selection of the trainee adviser’s cases and sits in on a final interview. If these are satisfactory the trainee adviser becomes a fully fledged adviser and receives their certificate.