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Become a Volunteer!

Get Involved!

Please join our growing network of language and culture volunteers.  Complete our volunteer application form and return it to:

Philada Rogers,
37 Icen Way, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1ET
or by email philada@icen.co.uk

Opportunities for Volunteers:

• support companies and organisations

• Sign up as language assistants and work with tutors in classes run by Dorset Adult Education Service, local secondary or primary schools. 

• join a special interest group, or help us to set up new ones. 

• become a volunteer at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy – to help at international sailing events

• Tell us what they would like to do!  We have received offers of help to:

• produce promotional materials

• work on local languages projects in tourism and the Olympic theme

We provide information and advice about training and work opportunities – such as public service interpreting.  We are currently trying to set up a training course for tour guides with foreign language skills, who could receive foreign visitors.   

We stay in touch with volunteers with an email newsletter every two months. 

The specialist RLN SW Language and Culture Volunteer Register

• Developed in the Dorset sub-region since January 2007

• Working towards capacity at Mastery level, as detailed in the European Language Portfolio in 20 languages

• Has engaged over 50 volunteers in recruitment, induction training, Information Advice and Guidance (IAG), placements and progression to training and employment

• Links with Weymouth and Dorchester volunteer centres.

Retired LSC-commissioned research by Experian reports that the local Olympic organisers "are likely to take advantage of the demographic profile of Dorset, which contains many ex-professionals with language skills". This corresponds with our experience, although other significant groupings exist.

Employed grouping includes migrant workers educated to degree level holding low-skilled jobs in retail, hospitality and other sectors; managers, languages graduates in non-language related jobs (eg, local authority administration). The importance of this group may warrant incentive schemes to release employees for volunteering.

The teacher/trainer grouping would be available during competition periods in the summer. For the student cohorts, the creation of an infrastructure for local recruitment and training would enable them to participate. Three local secondary schools specifically expressed the wish for their students to have this type of opportunity.

The 3-hour induction session to volunteering currently includes:

• Introduction to roles and responsibilities as a volunteer; case studies

• Application form and registration with local volunteer centre

• European Language and Culture Passport - initial assessment of skills

• IAG: current opportunities, plus routes into training and work; question & answer session

• Initial assessment of suitability for specific volunteering role (eg, sport competition, transport, spectator services, medical).
  

Download more information:

• Get Involved! - (90 kb PDF file) - packed with information about volunteering your skills.

• Read What a Volunteer Interpreter Said about their experience (29 kb PDF file)

• Download a Volunteer Application Form - either as a PDF file (83 kb) or as a Microsoft Word file (36kb) which you can download, complete and email back to philada@icen.co.uk

• Download a case study (91kb) detailing how volunteering led to full time employment for one of our project volunteers in Dorset.

You can also review some of the course resources used in the training sessions for Volunteers - click here.