If you're a volunteer or you're working in the voluntary sector then we can offer you accredited training to help you improve the skills you use and develop new ones.

Perhaps you would like to improve your interpersonal skills, or learn about managing volunteers, explore sociology or psychology? We have something for you. You can take courses that interest you and will help with your professional development and/or work towards a qualification such as an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

Part-Time Distance Learning

All our volunteer training is by part-time distance learning, there is no need to attend university, you can study from home, from work, on the train - wherever you are anywhere in the world. With an Internet connection you will always have access to your course materials and tutor support via our Virtual University. We'll also send you everything you need in the post and tutors can always be contacted by phone. You'll become a student 'at' the University of Wales, Lampeter (the oldest degree awarding institution in the UK after Oxford and Cambridge). There are many benefits associated with this, such as:

• Enhanced skills for working or volunteering in the voluntary sector
• Improved self esteem and confidence
• Full access to our Virtual University
• Student Union Membership
• University email address
• Access to the university and departmental libraries
• Access to student software
• Being part of a student community and 'meeting' others working and studying in areas similar to yours

Helping You to Help Others

Of course the more you help yourself and improve your skills and knowledge with training, the more others benefit too. That's what we want to promote. We’re committed to widening access, this means providing education for those ‘non-traditional’ students, and also to lifelong learning.  The older we get the more we realise we don’t know! We have a higher than usual proportion of mature students and also students with disabilities, both seen and unseen. Many of our students have had little or no previous academic experience - the thought of starting a university level programme of study is often daunting - don't worry we're used to that and here to help. You maybe interested in reading some of our student stories.

Where to go now?
About Us - The Department of Vountary Sector Studies: our values and history
Interpersonal Skills Page - What are Interpersonal Skills? How we can help
Our Courses and Qualifications - Full information and course descriptors
FAQs - Our most frequently asked questions (with answers!)
Apply - Find out how easy it is to apply and enrol on a course
Home - Back to our homepage