| Non-motoring > Mentoring | Miscellaneous |
| Thread Author: Stuu | Replies: 16 |
|
Sun 14 Aug 11 22:09
Mentoring - Stuu
|
|
Ive been thinking about what to do with my vast amount of spare time and I thought of volunteering. Now, the only sort of social work ive done is working with young people so my mind turned to that as a starting point and there seem to be alot of opportunities about for mentoring/befriending. This seemed the least complicated type of work out there with fairly simple and noble aims. I find im hesitant though, not about myself - I certainly have a good deapth of knowledge about childhood problems from my own life and ive spent time working with some pretty unruly boys in my younger days - what worries me, prob affects alot of people really, is the concept of putting your hand up to offer to work with kids, in this day and age where everyone is guilty until proven innocent, or so it seems. I havent got a criminal record, never been arrested etc so a CRB check isnt a worry, but I wonder how they treat you because I know I wont be able to relax in myself if I feel have a metaphorical gun to my head because I said 'yeah ill do it'. My wife is encouraging me, infact my whole family are, because for some reason, kids tend to find me approachable and my wife thinks that and my past experiences mean I could have alot to offer - both these qualities are listed as desireable in all the blurb. So does anyone have any experience of volunteering and the vetting process? Im keen on the idea, but I also dont want end up surrounded by soft in the head morons who talk in a whisper and arent so much interested in results as convincing themselves they tried. I would find that infuriating because im a positive action sort of person, if I sign up I want to be able to do something constructive rather than bulk up my CV. - the recent riots sort of brought the notion to my mind. Of course, it would be a 'Big Society' thing to do, which always carries the risk of meeting David Cameron. Dear Lord no, nobody would volunteer for that! Just looking for comment really, Im at the thinking stage. |
|
Sun 14 Aug 11 22:19
Mentoring - R.P.
|
| I do voluntary for the local CAB - I enjoy it and during mt spell as a Census Mercenary I looked forward to the unpaid side of things more than the paid stuff. My initial "contract" was for one day a week, it has sort of crept into two days of late, and I'm involved in their training.....It's good. |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 18:54
Mentoring - mikeyb
|
| Cant speak for the full vetting process, but the CRB bit is easy. I have been "done" by the scouts so I can help out with my sons Cub group, and Mrs B works with the mentaly ill, so has a full CRB which is abit more involved, but not difficult. |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 19:15
Mentoring - Westpig
|
| How about being a Special Constable? |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 19:28
Mentoring - Stuu
|
|
>>How about being a Special Constable?<< Never really fancied it, the reason Id like to work with kids is, soppy as it sounds, when I was a kid my god did I want so badly someone to be there for me and they werent, so if I can in any way do that for someone else so they dont suffer the isolation that I did, it feels worth doing, esp as I have an acute understanding of how it feels - it isnt something you can learn so you have to walk that path to understand it in someone else, in a way, turning my very bad experiences into a positive. Ive been watching that series Beyond Scared Straight I think it is, its quite inspiring ( for those who dont know its were american kids on bad paths are taken into prison and essentially have the holy beejesus scared out of them, its the kind of reality check I can appreciate ), but its essentially run by the prisoners who know the reality of what they talk about which is a precious gift. I have a great deal of respect for the police/armed forces but ive never got involved with either because im not interested in that level of confrontation, this place is enough!! |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 19:39
Mentoring - Westpig
|
|
Fair enough...you've got a good reason for volunteering...and sadly there's enough out there that need it. I have to say how highly I admire foster parents, who provide a stable platform for needy kids. I'm reading a non fiction book at the moment that describes (in America) where a kid and his brother are having a real hard time with the father (mother had died). Father was alcoholic and beat the sons... on one occasion when it got bad, the local Sherriff took the kids to a foster family and set the ball rolling for them to stay there permanently. The author then states that he and his brother were the last kids to live there, after many, many years, even decades of that family fostering....and the first child...was the Sherriff. There are plently of good people out there..some go that little bit extra. |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 19:33
Mentoring - Zero
|
| I thought "specials" were being used as delayed entry into the force for when headcount increases are allowed? |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 19:40
Mentoring - Westpig
|
|
>> I thought "specials" were being used as delayed entry into the force for when headcount >> increases are allowed? >> True...and PCSOs. You can still be a Special and stay a Special though. |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 19:42
Mentoring - Stuu
|
|
I may get in trouble for liberal use of a batton on people who dont pull their trousers up. An my wife says im special enough :-p |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 19:46
Mentoring - Zero
|
|
>> True...and PCSOs. You can still be a Special and stay a Special though. No thanks, all of the crap and none of the good bits. |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 20:18
Mentoring - Westpig
|
|
>> No thanks, all of the crap and none of the good bits. >> ...and no insurance policy/ safety net if you get injured..and your daytime employer tells you to get lost |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 20:35
Mentoring - R.P.
|
| Given the recent events, I'm more convinced than ever that the UK needs a properly organised reserve, paid in the same way as the TA. |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 21:27
Mentoring - Runfer D'Hills
|
|
When I first started work many larger "firms" had a number of places every year for new young starters at all levels. Some would go straight from school while others would be taken as graduate entrants. This of course was when we had proper businesses who made things in Britain and sold them both in the domestic market and indeed abroad. I was lucky along with my intake to go to work for a company which manufactured, wholesaled and retailed its products in the UK and worldwide. We had a great commercial education. We were assigned to various bits of the business usually for 6 or 12 months at a time. They didn't really have jobs for us but we were generally seconded to a department head as his or her "Gopher". We had to learn how to do everything the company did from sourcing raw materials, assembling them on a production line, quality control, negotiating with suppliers, working in the shops, time in the finance and credit control departments, the marketing department, being trainee sales reps, assisting the designers and pattern cutters etc etc in fact general dogsbody work in all areas of the business. Some dropped out or were dropped along the way but the rest of us were usually offered permanent posts after a couple of years or so in departments which need staff and which we had shown a particular suitability for. Resultantly, they got at one level relatively cheap and keen labour for a while and the chance to groom ( indeed mentor ) their own future managers in the knowledge the they would all have a good grasp of what the business actually did and how it functioned. Of course modern businesses just don't have or won't provide the budget for such things now. Mainly because they tend not to be as autonomous anymore. Manufacturing is almost all contracted out to cheap labour markets now. Few would fund an in-house PR or advertising department. Credit control is factored out to specialist agencies and the days of the large manufacturing retailer and wholesaler seem to have passed for now. Resultantly, young people have to nail their colours to a specialist mast much earlier now. A bad career choice at an early age becomes a commercial millstone around their necks always supposing they can secure a decent job in the first place. The ones who weren't quite so suited to managerial roles were easily accomodated in the more practical areas of the business and had secure jobs for as long as they wanted them. This is the most sadly missed sector of the jobs market. The breadwinner jobs for those who are not academic high flyers. but who are still more than capable of contributing their enthusiasm and effort in return for a fair day's pay and earning their employer's and indeed self-respect from doing so. To an extent this evolution of our workplace society is a bit of a self-inflicted wound. Inadvertant of course in that most people don't think through the consequences of their purchasing habits and the effect constant downward pressure on consumer goods pricing has had. The result though is self-evident. Never has the adage of "be careful what you wish for" been so clearly illustrated as in recent times. Past greed at corporate, governmental, trade union and undeniably individual levels has come home to roost. There is no common cause mentality any longer. It's every man and woman for him/herself. That is a shame. It could have been different. Too late now though. |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 21:51
Mentoring - R.P.
|
| Maybe this should appear in the riot threads... |
|
Mon 15 Aug 11 21:58
Mentoring - Zero
|
| They do a riot apprenticeship scheme now? |
|
Tue 16 Aug 11 00:01
Mentoring - RattleandSmoke
|
|
Yep apparantly one of the University of Salford's most popular courses. I quite like the idea being a CAB volunteer, am half thinking long term of going into paid employment in that sort of area or trading standards but more than anything some sort of routine will really help me at the moment. |
|
Tue 16 Aug 11 08:38
Mentoring - R.P.
|
| CAB volunteering is a priceless commodity on a CV (so I'm told) - I woke up on Friday to be told that I'd gained a level 3 NVQ from them - :-) (!) |
Forum Version 3.0 - By Khoosys
Car4play Forum
