By Tom Green

One of the organisations with the highest numbers of opportunities on do-it.org.uk listed under "Administration" is Citizens Advice.

The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free information and advice from nearly 3,400 locations, and by influencing policymakers.

There's a Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) in most towns and cities, and they rely on the work of more than 21,000 volunteers. Most of the trained advisers in CABs are volunteers and there are also a wide range of administration roles.

Roseanne Foskett is a volunteer in IT support at Cambridge CAB. "I go to the bureau for three hours on a Monday morning and Tuesday afternoon," she explains. "They were changing computer systems for recording clients and their cases. I was involved in transferring all the information over to the new system and adding in the relevant extra information."

With that project complete, Roseanne's now working with the Benefits team doing call-backs. She calls clients who the CAB advised on benefit entitlement but who did not let the CAB know what the outcome of their case was.

Experience for work

Many CAB admin volunteers are looking to get experience that can help them get a job, whether in advice work or another field. Christopher Lowe volunteers at Hornchurch CAB.  "I initially joined the CAB to gain work experience," he says. "I've been able to use some of the computer skills I learnt at college and I have become more confident in dealing with people. I've gained an insight into the kinds of problems people have and the procedures involved in resolving them."

In fact, a third of volunteers who leave the Citizens Advice service each year do so to go on to paid employment and some CAB run projects specifically to provide volunteer work experience.

Jodie Boldero is a young volunteer at Norwich CAB. "I'm currently doing a student apprenticeship in business and administration," she explains. "As part of this I have to do two days a week work experience, one day of which I spend at Norwich CAB. I've learnt so much. Being an administrator and receptionist I've gained a lot of confidence and new skills and made a lot of new friends."

Search the do-it.org.uk database  for admin volunteering opportunities in your area.

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