From Volunteer to VCSE Champion - Josh's Story

I have been at Connected Voice since September 2024, and over that time, I’ve worked with over 200 VCSE organisations. What many of these might not know about me, is that before I became a Support and Development Officer, I volunteered in the service twice a week for a month.  

Going back to Summer 2024, I had just graduated from my degree in Portsmouth and came back home to the North East. This coincided with the increasing challenges in the job market following the Covid pandemic and finding relevant work was extremely difficult. As a graduate in International Development, I was searching for a purposeful role that made positive socioeconomic benefits for communities. I grew up in a low-income household in the North East, so doing this work locally felt right to me.  

After being knocked back from several applications due to lack of experience, I was offered a volunteering role at Connected Voice. The Support and Development Coordinator at the time, Jeremy, recognised my passion for change and wanted to help me to build up my experience, putting me on the pathway to securing my current role.  

When I was given the job of Support and Development Officer, I was recruited for my attitude rather than my experience, and this has helped me grow to a place where I am now able to make an meaningful impact for Connected Voice and for the organisations that I support.  

My advice to organisations in the sector is to trust people who have positive attitudes and high potential. Whether this is a young graduate, somebody who’s been out of work, or somebody with lived experience rather than work experience, putting trust in them will help them to do well. Give them purposeful work and make sure they feel valued for their input. If you commit to developing their skills, they will reach their potential sooner and your organisation will benefit from this.  

Volunteering was extremely valuable to me. I learnt a lot of skills that I never would have gained from my studies. Things as simple as understanding the office environment and getting hands on experience with groups that I want to support massively built my confidence and employability skills. It also gave me something to talk about and a sense of purpose during a tough time of job hunting. 

Without volunteering, the things I have achieved with the over 200 groups I have worked with may never have been possible in this time frame.