Volunteer with Citizens Advice Wokingham
You can volunteer from the comfort of your own home, at our Woodley or Wokingham Town Centre offices or on our Mobile Advice Unit.
Our roles are flexible, the difference we make helps people move forward with their lives, and we cannot do it without you.
Citizens Advice Wokingham is a charity, and ever since June 1977 when we were first set up – the dedication and support from volunteers, people just like you, has kept us going.
Become a Volunteer Trainee Adviser
People in our communities are experiencing the cost of living crisis and other challenges in life.
That’s where our volunteers make a big difference – and you could be one of our new Trainee Advisers.
Last year we helped 5,170 people find a way forward with 17,817 issues.
Take Sandra (name changed), she called our One Front Door adviceline to ask for help accessing the foodbank as she needed a referral. Andy, one of our volunteers, took Sandra through some questions to explore her circumstances. Sandra was having some money issues, her washing machine had broken and things were feeling really difficult to manage. Andy was able to make a referral over to the foodbank that day, and explore an essential items grant from a local funder to replace the washing machine. While this was being done, an appointment was made with one of our experienced advisers to do an income and expenditure check – look to maximise income by checking Sandra is getting all the benefits and help she would be entitled to, and help find appropriate debt solutions to meet her circumstances.
As a Trainee Adviser you’ll be supported throughout your journey with us by our Training Manager:
- You’ll follow the Adviser Learning Programme, starting with an induction and some core learning
- After this you’ll answer phone calls from our clients to triage their issues – all with the support of our Supervisors who are available every day we’re open
- You’ll then continue with some further learning to embed more knowledge and put it into perspective through some of the client work you’ve already been involved with
- Then you’ll start looking at how you can deal with more of the issues yourself, by doing the benefit applications or debt exploration yourself – first shadowing some of our experienced team and then trying it yourself, again with access to our supervisor and expert advice team every day we’re open
You’ll be allocated a mentor, receive a weekly briefing and have regular access to a supportive team. Our Training Manager will have 1-to-1 check-ins with you to see how your volunteering and learning journey is going.
We’re seeing more demand than ever before, with the cost of living crisis really making more people struggle with making ends meet.
Our core areas of help include benefits, debt, housing, employment and relationships & family – you’ll learn more about these areas and have access to information and tools on each of these topics when you join us.
So – we’d love to hear from you. Please visit our website for further information or email volunteer@cawokingham.org.uk and we can arrange a chat to see if volunteering here is right for you, and take the opportunity to answer any of your questions.
Citizens Advice is special because we help people find a way to deal with their problems, whatever they are. This may involve getting a plan to resolve debts, accessing benefits people are entitled to, clarifying their rights when dealing with housing or consumer issues, or helping them through family difficulties. Help and support is often available and we can identify the right information to allow everyone to access it.
Volunteering at Citizens Advice can be challenging as we deal with a wide range of issues, but the training is good and it is incredibly satisfying when we can help people find a way out of the problems that had previously seemed overwhelming to them.
I feel in a fortunate position compared to many people and wanted to use my free time and access to the internet to help others. I enjoy working in a supportive, organised way to provide this back up to anyone who needs it. I was keen to learn new skills which I believe I have.
The training has been very good - both in terms of courses and workshops. The additional training I receive on-the-job from the Supervisors relating to a real-life case is also excellent. I've been volunteering for 18 months now and I learn something new every week. Sometimes all it takes is to listen to someone else's problems or difficulties with an empathetic ear. Other times it involves research and organisation to help someone and then explain how they can go on to help themselves.
Because of covid I haven't yet been able to meet many of my fellow volunteers but as restrictions ease I am looking forward to that too.....
Our volunteers make a huge difference to the lives of people across Wokingham Borough. From taking the clients first phone call in to our service. helping them lift the weight off their shoulders, through to providing admin support to keep our service going, volunteers are the lifeblood through our charity.
I volunteer because I enjoy helping people and learning new skills.
Volunteering makes me feel that I'm part of a process that makes a difference to people's lives, and keeps my brain going!
Having recently retired I want to keep myself relevant by making sure that I understand what is happening within society more widely than with my immediate circle of friends and contacts. I also feel that, after many years of full time work, I have skills and experience that can be used for a wider benefit to society. Citizens Advice is a well organised and well informed route through which to achieve these objectives.
At the end of each session I feel better informed and also satisfied that I have made a small contribution to other peoples' well-being. Whilst some of the conversations that I will have had on any given day will have been intellectually challenging and, perhaps, emotionally draining I do come away from the day with the stronger sense of purpose and achievement that you get through helping other people.
Why volunteer with us?
If you’d like to make a difference in your community we’d love to hear from you.
Our volunteers range from supporting our work for a few months whilst they look for employment, through to longer-term. However long you’re with us, we want you to enjoy your experience, supported by our friendly and knowledgeable team.
We are the go-to advice and information provider in Wokingham Borough, helping people find a way forward with their problems. Since the start of the COVID pandemic we’ve helped around 1 in 18 people in Wokingham in some way or other, through their issues.
Well, that’s ok – we’d still be happy to hear from you! We’re looking for people from all walks of live, reflecting the diversity of our communities, to be a part of our team.
Upon joining, all colleagues receive a full induction to the charity – and our training manager will then support you through a training pathway based on your desired role and needs. Most training is online so as long as you’re confident with using the internet, we can help you to train up.
There is a myth that you have to be trained in law/be a solicitor to volunteer for Citizens Advice and that’s not the case!
Many people first join Citizens Advice Wokingham as an Initial Checker – answering incoming calls and helping to unpack the situation – before exploring next options, or as an admin support. After a few months in this role, our training manager and supervisors are always happy to explore what else you would like to do.
We’re looking for people who are happy with engaging with others, when providing our advice, information and support roles. We’ll support you to ask the right questions when triaging a case, to unpack what’s going on, and explore some options to move forward through other parts of the service or our borough.
Each day that our service operates (Monday to Friday) one of our supervisors leads an online video conference call where our colleagues dip-in and dip-out throughout the day to check-in for support. Some colleagues also choose to base themselves at our Woodley or Wokingham office, or out as a team on our Mobile Advice Unit – it all depends on your preference.
We ask for a day a week, which can be split over two half-days if that suits you. You can liaise with our training manager on this when you enquire.
Here are the roles we're looking for people to support with
We hope that you’ve found enough information to feel you can make a decision, but if you’re still not sure – email us via admin@cawokingham.org.uk and we can arrange a one-to-one chat with our Training Manager.
If you’re interested in taking this forward, please fill in the application form below or email us to get the ball rolling.