Embracing VolunteeringCelebrating Volunteers’ Week 2023, Dr Katerina Kolyva, CEO at the Education and Training Foundation reflects on volunteering and the positive impact that it brings to individuals, their communities and to society as a whole.Volunteers’ Week (1–7 June) has been an opportunity to celebrate the millions of people who make a difference in their communities across the UK. I’ve always found volunteering stories fascinating and inspiring; both because of the things they help others to enjoy and achieve, and because of the positive impact that volunteering has on individuals, organisations, communities, and society. For me, the best bit about volunteering is the difference it makes, the people you meet along the way and the stories that you hear and become a part of.MY OWN VOLUNTEERING JOURNEYMy own volunteering journey began because I wanted to use my skills outside of my day job to support a cause close to my heart. In return, I got the chance to further my own learning and develop my professional networks. As I have progressed in my career, my volunteering has also progressed and changed direction. I started volunteering nearly 30 years ago as a young French teacher offering free lessons to young children from low-income families, who would not otherwise have had the opportunity to learn a foreign language.I recall how proud I was with their progress and the joy I felt receiving their feedback. I currently volunteer as a trustee and governor in causes that are close to my professional expertise, such as the charity sector, membership organisations, healthcare and education. I find that every contribution I make helps me to share my experience while learning from the shared experiences of others. It is definitely a reciprocal process.Today, I am a trustee at the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI), a governor at PETROC College, and Chair of the Women CEO group at ACEVO. For each of these roles, I went through a competitive recruitment process similar to that you’d encounter when applying for a job.That process was informative, helping me to train myself in interviewing from a non-executive perspective. The roles have taught me much about providing effective strategic support to help organisations thrive, and about the fine balance that is needed between challenging and supporting the executive team while keeping an appropriate distance from their operational activities.With each of these volunteer roles, my learning has continued in post affording me differing experiences and opportunities and allowing me to gain knowledge in areas I might have not been involved in before. My volunteering in the QNI helps me with conversations at the ETF now about professional standards; my volunteering in PETROC college offers insights to the sector that we serve; and my volunteering at ACEVO supports my leadership development and allows me and other CEOs to share ideas and learn across organisational and sector boundaries.I have found that non-executive roles in particular help me understand my role as CEO of a charity from a different perspective and support me in my relationship with the Board of Trustees. They maintain my critical thinking and help me contribute to strategic conversations.THIS KIND OF VOLUNTEERING GETS ME ENGAGED WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES, LEARNERS, AND TEACHERSIn turn, this kind of volunteering gets me engaged with local communities, learners, and teachers. It helps me to better understand the context of my work and that of the sector and keeps my thinking fresh. Maintaining that closeness to the people you exist to serve helps me to ensure that as an organisation we deliver on what they want and need.Given my experiences, you will not be surprised to learn that I am a big advocate for volunteering. I recognise, of course, that not everybody is able to volunteer, but where people can enjoy such opportunities, I highly recommend doing so.A WELL-EMBEDDED CULTURE OF VOLUNTEERINGWhen I became CEO of the Education a...

Ver todos los episodios