NCVA Northumberland Community and Voluntary Action

‘Can’t get a job because I’ve got no experience, can’t get experience because I can’t get a job’ – it’s the Catch 22 that we’ve all heard. 

The right sort of volunteer experience can help get round the problem and plug gaps in your CV. NCVA has developed expertise in developing volunteering opportunities for people looking to improve their job prospects for over 25 years. ‘Work experience’ is something that, of itself, is fine. Unfortunately work experience has been misused by some employers and mismanaged in employment schemes meaning it has been interpreted as ‘cheap labour’ or even ‘slave labour’, providing nothing of value for the person meant to be gaining experience.

In response NCVA developed ‘supported volunteering’ which now forms part of our contribution to the Bridge Northumberland programme.

Our Supported Volunteering Project encourages those taking part, many of whom have a range of additional support needs, to gain confidence, self-esteem and practical skills by undertaking volunteering with the support of a buddy so they are able to move into unsupported volunteering, training or employment.

NCVA has accumulated expertise and knowledge in the field that has enabled our organisation to deliver employability services that are more client-centred, better targeted and supported effectively one-to-one. This expertise led to NCVA becoming the lead partner in Bridge Northumberland – a flagship employment programme supported by the National Lottery Community Fund and the European Social Fund. 

Since 1995 NCVA has been working to improve the employment prospects and help develop the skills of people in Northumberland. More than 3000 people have been helped by the award winning programmes we have run or led.