Ever considered volunteering?
Looking for something to keep you busy in your spare time or while you search for a job? Lantra is encouraging people to consider volunteering within the environmental and land-based sector.
Volunteering means many things to different people, but essentially it’s an opportunity to gain practical work experience through your own commitment and time, to improve your skills, confidence and contacts while helping others. Willie Fergusson, National Director for Scotland said: “For many, volunteering provides an opportunity to road test different types of work in different industries, while making the individual more employable. Volunteering is an excellent way for people to increase their confidence and learn new skills. If someone has a clear idea about the type of career they want to follow, then volunteering is a great way to give them some experience and could give them the edge at a college, university or job interview.” While people volunteer for different reasons, it’s not just them who can benefit from volunteering; it’s also beneficial for businesses and organisations too. Volunteers can help sustain an organisation by being an invaluable source of additional cost-effective labour, and can bring with them fresh ideas. In addition, it can be a great way of recruiting new employees. Volunteering helps communities and the environment by bringing together like-minded individuals who selflessly and willingly donate their time, labour and skills; Lantra estimates that around 40,000 individuals volunteer within the environmental and land-based sector across Scotland. While there is a broad distribution of these volunteers across the sector, they predominately perform tasks related to the game and wildlife management, trees and timber, fisheries management, agriculture, environmental conservation and animal care industries. Organisations are always looking for more people to help them out, so it doesn't matter what skills you have, everybody has something they can give. ENDS ISSUED BY: Lantra Press Office - Paula Smyth, Marketing, Communications and Project Co-ordinator, Tel: 028 7963 1304 or email scotland.media@lantra.co.uk. CREDIT FOR PHOTO: Volunteering EDITORS NOTES: • Lantra is an employer-led organisation which is licensed by the UK government to drive forward the skills, training and business development agenda for the 17 industries in the sector. The industries represented are: agricultural crops; agricultural livestock; animal care; animal technology; aquaculture; environmental conservation; equine; farriery; fencing; fisheries management; floristry; game and wildlife management; horticulture, landscape and sports turf; land-based engineering; production horticulture; trees and timber; and veterinary nursing.
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