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Training is an integral part of the support and recognition that all clubs should give their volunteers. However, based on the Council’s recent research, volunteers and club administrators identified access to training and education as problematic. Opportunities to attend training courses was limited due to lack of uptake – particularly in rural areas or where sports were in the early stages of evolution and lacked the necessary scale for conducting training across the country. The research also noted that volunteer commitment was greatly enhanced when courses took place on site and where the time commitment was reduced.
The research also found that volunteers are interested in a combination of formal and informal education and non-formal learning while volunteer coaches are particularly interested in access to coaching courses, opportunities to network and share practice and formal mentoring, Coaches working with children and youth also asked for professional development to help them engage with these groups, in particular communication and management. They want to know how to coach not just what to coach.
Clubs need to recognize that providing external and internal training for volunteers will make them feel more motivated and confident to carry out their tasks effectively. Training for volunteers range from club qualifications in coaching provided by the National Governing Bodies (NGB), through to generic workshops such as those provided by Coaching Ireland where a certificate of attendance is issued. Clubs should engage with their NGBs, with Coaching Ireland and with the relevant Local Sports Partnerships to see what type of external training is available from these sources. Clubs should look to engage with other neighbouring clubs where generic type of training is required. This is to ensure the economies of scale needed to keep training programmes ticking over as well as providing an opportunity to learn from practices outside of their own sport.
The club can also provide its own training and support for volunteers by implementing some of the following:
- Provide a proper club induction and club information pack
- Explain the aims of the club and their rights and responsibilities as a volunteer
- Inform volunteers of club policies around its constitution, codes of conduct, child protection, health and safety, ethical standards, etc. expected within the club
- Encourage new volunteers to ‘shadow’ committee officers, administrators or coaches as part of their informal learning
- Review volunteers’ training needs on a regular basis
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