Events, Forums, and Training

Are you looking for a way to improve your skills as a volunteer manager? Do you want to learn how to recruit, support, and celebrate your volunteers effectively? If so, then you might be interested in the Volunteer Managers Training course offered by the Highland Third Sector Interface (HTSI).

The Volunteer Managers Training will cover various topics related to managing volunteers, such as:

What to include in your Volunteer Policy
Creating role description
Advertising your roles
Volunteer Recruitment
Managing volunteers
Volunteer Retention
Volunteer Support
Youth volunteering
Celebrating your volunteers
The course is designed for anyone who is involved in managing or coordinating volunteers in the Highland area. It will help you to develop your knowledge and confidence in working with volunteers, as well as providing you with practical tools and resources that you can use in your organisation.

Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your volunteer management skills and network with other volunteer managers in the Highland area.

Third Sector Organisations are being asked to do more than ever before - often in the face of growing demand, limited resources, funding uncertainty and increasing pressure on staff and volunteers.

This interactive session will explore some of the key challenges currently shaping the management and sustainability of Volunteer Involving Organisations, including volunteer recruitment and retention, organisational sustainability, leadership challenges and responding to increasing expectations in a rapidly changing environment.

Dr Leanne Greening is a Lecturer in People and Organisation at Swansea University. Drawing on current research and participants' own experiences, the session will provide space for discussion, shared learning and reflection on how organisations are navigating these pressures in practice. Participants will have the opportunity to exchange experiences, identify common concerns and discuss approaches being developed across the sector.

Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) is when paid employees are supported, encouraged or otherwise enabled by their employer to volunteer outside of their organisation, to the benefit of Volunteer Receiving Organisations (VRO) in their community. Whilst ESV is increasingly offered by employers in the UK and is promoted for its benefits for employers, employees and VROs alike, it is still an immature field from a research perspectve.

Paula Glover is a PhD student in the psychology department at the University of Winchester. studying ESV. In this workshop, Paula will share findings from her research to date, with the aim of raising awareness of what is already known about ESV, where there are gaps in knowledge that need addressing, and what this might mean for practitioners working in companies and VROs offering, or considering offering, ESV.

A new way to connect volunteers, opportunities and communities across Highland

Join us in Golspie for an introduction and demonstration of the newly launched Volunteer Academy App, a digital platform designed to make volunteering more accessible, help organisations connect with volunteers and recognise the valuable skills and experience people gain through volunteering.

Whether your organisation is looking to recruit new volunteers, support existing volunteers or explore new ways to manage volunteering, this session is an opportunity to discover what’s possible.

What will we explore?

· Find and attract volunteers: Discover how your organisation can advertise volunteering opportunities and connect with people interested in getting involved.
· Make volunteer management easier: Explore features for managing volunteer profiles, sharing updates and recording volunteering hours.
· Recognise skills and experience: Find out how volunteers can record their activities, training and certificates, creating a record of their contribution and development.
· Get started with the app: Learn how to register your organisation and take the first steps towards using the platform.
· Connect with your local third sector: Meet other organisations, exchange ideas and share what’s happening across Sutherland.



Who should attend?

Local charities, community groups, social enterprises and volunteer-involving organisations, whether you already involve volunteers or are considering doing so.

Come along, discover the possibilities and be part of the next chapter of volunteering in Highland!

We look forward to welcoming you.

A new way to connect volunteers, opportunities and communities across Highland

Join us in Thurso for an introduction and demonstration of the newly launched Volunteer Academy App, a digital platform designed to make volunteering more accessible, help organisations connect with volunteers and recognise the valuable skills and experience people gain through volunteering.
Whether your organisation is looking to recruit new volunteers, support existing volunteers or explore new ways to manage volunteering, this session is an opportunity to discover what’s possible.



What will we explore?
· Find and attract volunteers: Discover how your organisation can advertise volunteering opportunities and connect with people interested in getting involved.
· Make volunteer management easier: Explore features for managing volunteer profiles, sharing updates and recording volunteering hours.
· Recognise skills and experience: Find out how volunteers can record their activities, training and certificates, creating a record of their contribution and development.
· Get started with the app: Learn how to register your organisation and take the first steps towards using the platform.
· Connect with your local third sector: Meet other organisations, exchange ideas and share what’s happening across Sutherland.


Who should attend?

Local charities, community groups, social enterprises and volunteer-involving organisations, whether you already involve volunteers or are considering doing so.

Come along, discover the possibilities and be part of the next chapter of volunteering in Highland!

We look forward to welcoming you.

A new way to connect volunteers, opportunities and communities across Highland

Join us in Wick for an introduction and demonstration of the newly launched Volunteer Academy App, a digital platform designed to make volunteering more accessible, help organisations connect with volunteers and recognise the valuable skills and experience people gain through volunteering.
Whether your organisation is looking to recruit new volunteers, support existing volunteers or explore new ways to manage volunteering, this session is an opportunity to discover what’s possible.



What will we explore?
· Find and attract volunteers: Discover how your organisation can advertise volunteering opportunities and connect with people interested in getting involved.
· Make volunteer management easier: Explore features for managing volunteer profiles, sharing updates and recording volunteering hours.
· Recognise skills and experience: Find out how volunteers can record their activities, training and certificates, creating a record of their contribution and development.
· Get started with the app: Learn how to register your organisation and take the first steps towards using the platform.
· Connect with your local third sector: Meet other organisations, exchange ideas and share what’s happening across Sutherland.


Who should attend?

Local charities, community groups, social enterprises and volunteer-involving organisations, whether you already involve volunteers or are considering doing so.

Come along, discover the possibilities and be part of the next chapter of volunteering in Highland.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Discover how Lochview Rural Training's research is shaping the future of volunteering and strengthening rural communities.

Join Lochview Rural Training as they take us on a journey through their HTSI Research Fellowship, sharing what they discovered about the future of volunteering in rural communities.

From the Highlands to Newcastle, Edinburgh, Arizona and beyond, the Fellowship explored innovative approaches to recruiting and retaining volunteers, developing supported volunteering opportunities, creating meaningful progression pathways and using outdoor, land-based and animal centred activities to build confidence, skills and wellbeing.

Hear the stories and key lessons from Lochview Rural Training's research visits and discover how their learning is shaping the way they support volunteers and communities in rural Sutherland.

Whether you work with volunteers, volunteer yourself or are interested in how volunteering can strengthen communities, come along, share ideas and be inspired by what is possible!

HTSI's Volunteer Managers Forum is for anyone in the Third Sector in Highland who is involved in, or has an interest in, volunteering. We hear from relevant volunteer services, network, have discussions, provide support and guidance, as well as giving attendees the chance to share experiences and update the group.