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Voluntary work and mentoring scheme (VWMS)The Psychology Division has received funding from the Scottish Funding Council as part of the Aiming University Learning @ Work Project to support and further develop their Voluntary Work and Mentoring Scheme (VWMS). This scheme supports participating students to obtain relevant work experience for a few hours a week alongside your studies, usually through volunteering with voluntary sector organisations and public sector organisations like schools or hospitals. It is primarily promoted to students undertaking the following Programmes:
However, if other students would like to take part, we will do our best to accommodate you where possible. To take part in the scheme, you are asked to volunteer in a person-centred or caring capacity for half a day per week, over the course of at least 12 weeks. This may be, for example, befriending, mentoring, advocacy, working in school or support group or helpline etc. You can work with a wide range of people and can begin at any point throughout the year. Once you have completed 12 weeks and obtained a letter from your organisation to the effect, we will provide you with a certificate to add to your CV or Career Portfolio. The aim of the scheme is to allow you to improve your employment and postgraduate prospects by developing key transferable and work-related skills (like interpersonal and communication skills) whilst forging links within the community. To really get the most out of taking part, we strongly recommend that you keep a written log of your experiences. Use this to reflect on what skills are you developing and how you are developing them and think how you can you evidence these skills to future employers. Please see below for a list generic skills and an example of a reflective log, or you can discuss this when you sign up for the scheme. Participation in the scheme is voluntary and no direct incentives are given to take part. However, some students may choose to take optional modules PSYP208 - Work and Psychology or PSYP419 - Psychology Related Work Experience and receive academic credit for your work-related activities. For the Level 4 module, which provides academic credit for reflection on voluntary work, you may also wish to use the scheme to help you to find an appropriate volunteering opportunity. Please see an information sheet below for students who are considering taking part in the scheme, and a list of current opportunities. We are happy to work with you to find the right volunteering opportunity for you, so please get in touch if you are interested in any of these opportunities, or likewise, if there is something else that may be of interest to you. For further information on the scheme and to discuss your volunteering options, please contact Lana Ireland at volunteerandmentor@gcu.ac.uk or on 0141 331 8072 Downloads
Read our caste studies about how past students have used volunteering through the VWMS to develop skills and experiences needed to secure graduate jobs or places on competitive postgraduate programmes. |
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