Member story: How staff development supports the voluntary sector

NAVCA members, local infrastructure organisations, are full of people working to improve lives in their communities. By supporting their staff’s career and personal development, NAVCA members can ensure that local charities and community groups are receiving the best support possible. In this blog post, we spoke to Yvette Wetton, Head of Infrastructure at NAVCA member CVS Tendring, about her experience studying for a Senior Leadership Apprenticeship at Anglia Ruskin University.

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NAVCA: What made you want to do the Senior Leader Apprenticeship?

Yvette: ‘’I love my job and I didn't want to have to leave to access the learning. I'm not able to pause my employment, and this was an ideal way to access Higher Education whilst still working. It was also affordable and relevant for my employer, and I wanted to be able to test whether this was a way that other managers and senior leaders working the voluntary and community organisations could access accredited and useful training and bring skills and knowledge into the sector.’’

NAVCA: What support have you had from your employer?

Yvette: ‘’CVS Tendring has been amazing. I have been able to fit my work around my learning and to fit learning in around my work. I've been given opportunities to undertake tasks that will support my portfolio of work and in return I have been able to bring in different perspectives through my learning. They are also getting used to my stress levels raising around submission time as each assignment is due!’’

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NAVCA: What are you hoping to gain or achieve from the apprenticeship?

Yvette: ‘’For me personally, I wanted the opportunity to do some accredited learning to prove to myself that I can do it. To have the chance to explore, to stretch myself, my knowledge, and my understanding. To be able to put back into my organisation so that we can learn, improve, and continue to make a difference in our local communities. More widely, I wanted to promote the importance of learning and development within the voluntary and community sectors. By doing this apprenticeship, I wanted to highlight the voluntary and community sector and the important and professional role we play. Through learning alongside students from the public and private sector there has been learning on all sides about the similarities and the differences in our organisations and the roles that we play in them.’’

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NAVCA: Finally, how is it going so far?

Yvette: ‘’I’ve loved learning. I love the reading and the research, and I will even admit to quite enjoying writing the assignments. It has been challenging, and it has been hard to perform and deliver after such a long break from education.  My tutor has been amazing and has gone above and beyond with incredible patience to support me with this - particularly at points when she is explaining how to record and submit everything."

We’ve enjoyed talking to Yvette about her experience with further education, and how NAVCA member CVS Tendring has supported Yvette through the process. Developing staff skills is a key way that NAVCA members can continue to build capacity and support their communities.

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