Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
Empower Be The Change was set up in May 2016 is a social enterprise that combines accredited soft skill training, mentoring and volunteering to create better skilled, better qualified, confident and empowered individuals.
Jo Clay set up Empower following a 12 month sabbatical in India volunteering for various non-governmental organisations and working for a further 18 months for Vi-Ability managing the hugely successful India Adventure Volunteer program.
I've seen first-hand how volunteering can change peoples lives. At Vi-Ability the programme I worked on supported 16 young NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training) from Wales to undertake month-long volunteer placements in rural India. The volunteers supported a range of community projects whilst working to develop their employability skills, confidence and knowledge.
Amazingly, all 16 volunteers returned to the UK into education and employment and two volunteers were recognised by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action as their International Volunteer of the Year.
I was inspired to create my own programme combining accredited soft skill training, volunteering and mentoring.
Since November 2016 Empower has taken 28 individuals through the volunteer to employment programme.
It all starts by looking at aspects such as personal strengths, leadership skills, communication, teams and teamwork and managing conflict, which also leads to an accredited qualification.
A placement aims to develop employability skills whilst supporting local community activity.
The first group to undertake this program was a group of 16-18 year-old students from St Christophers School in Wrexham. The students are completing their sports leaders level 3 and as part of the assessment have to complete a minimum of 10 hours community volunteering.
Jo Clay set up Empower following a 12 month sabbatical in India volunteering for various non-governmental organisations and working for a further 18 months for Vi-Ability managing the hugely successful India Adventure Volunteer program.
I've seen first-hand how volunteering can change peoples lives. At Vi-Ability the programme I worked on supported 16 young NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training) from Wales to undertake month-long volunteer placements in rural India. The volunteers supported a range of community projects whilst working to develop their employability skills, confidence and knowledge.
Amazingly, all 16 volunteers returned to the UK into education and employment and two volunteers were recognised by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action as their International Volunteer of the Year.
I was inspired to create my own programme combining accredited soft skill training, volunteering and mentoring.
Since November 2016 Empower has taken 28 individuals through the volunteer to employment programme.
It all starts by looking at aspects such as personal strengths, leadership skills, communication, teams and teamwork and managing conflict, which also leads to an accredited qualification.
A placement aims to develop employability skills whilst supporting local community activity.
The first group to undertake this program was a group of 16-18 year-old students from St Christophers School in Wrexham. The students are completing their sports leaders level 3 and as part of the assessment have to complete a minimum of 10 hours community volunteering.
The group had developed their skills and confidence to deliver sport sessions within school but lacked the confidence and self-belief to use these skills in a community setting.
In November all 14 students started volunteer placements in local sports clubs. The majority are assisting with sports coaching sessions and a few students have now started helping out with tournament officiating. All of them have now completed at least 10 hours and one student has racked up an impressive 57 hours!
All the students have thrived in their placement and, although they have now completed their requisite 10 hours for their sports leaders course, all 14 have continued to volunteer at their clubs because they are enjoying the placement so much.
Since February, Empower has taken a further 14 people through the programme with a number of these participants undertaking volunteer placements in sports clubs. Not just as sports coaches but supporting the club with admin, marketing and maintenance.
Another group is due to start in May.
The most rewarding aspect is seeing the visible positive change in each individuals confidence and self-belief. The volunteer placements give every individual a great opportunity to set and achieve their own goals, to develop communication skills and widen their social circle. It is making significant and lasting positive changes far beyond just simply volunteering.
The most challenging aspect is building the individuals confidence and self-belief to start a placement. Many of the participants are unaware of the skills and talents they have that will be hugely beneficial to any community organisation and employer. The two day course aims to bring this out of the individuals and set them on the right path.
Our program mentor pathway specifically focuses on how to support and develop volunteers and our top tip is always:
Get to know the volunteer as an individual, their real interests, strengths and skills and combine these to create roles that are beneficial to both the volunteer and organisation.
People are, and can be, so much more than the role they are recruited for!
In November all 14 students started volunteer placements in local sports clubs. The majority are assisting with sports coaching sessions and a few students have now started helping out with tournament officiating. All of them have now completed at least 10 hours and one student has racked up an impressive 57 hours!
All the students have thrived in their placement and, although they have now completed their requisite 10 hours for their sports leaders course, all 14 have continued to volunteer at their clubs because they are enjoying the placement so much.
Since February, Empower has taken a further 14 people through the programme with a number of these participants undertaking volunteer placements in sports clubs. Not just as sports coaches but supporting the club with admin, marketing and maintenance.
Another group is due to start in May.
The most rewarding aspect is seeing the visible positive change in each individuals confidence and self-belief. The volunteer placements give every individual a great opportunity to set and achieve their own goals, to develop communication skills and widen their social circle. It is making significant and lasting positive changes far beyond just simply volunteering.
The most challenging aspect is building the individuals confidence and self-belief to start a placement. Many of the participants are unaware of the skills and talents they have that will be hugely beneficial to any community organisation and employer. The two day course aims to bring this out of the individuals and set them on the right path.
Our program mentor pathway specifically focuses on how to support and develop volunteers and our top tip is always:
Get to know the volunteer as an individual, their real interests, strengths and skills and combine these to create roles that are beneficial to both the volunteer and organisation.
People are, and can be, so much more than the role they are recruited for!
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