I have been part of St John Ambulance and air cadets for many years and I have achieved so much as an air cadet developing skills in many areas and gaining these qualifications along on the way

• Level's 1 & 2 & 3 First Aid (Including AED - Automated External Defibrillator)
• Leadership Level's 1 & 2
• Communication with the Deaf and Blind
• Prior Award (24 Different Qualifications in St John Ambulance - Bronze, Silver, Gold)
• Peer Education which has enabled me to teach my peers and other young people Basic Life Support.

As an air cadet I reached the rank of NCO (Non-Commissions Officer - Corporal) in my Worle Cadet Unit. I am now a St John Ambulance Adult in the Clevedon St John Ambulance Unit.

My volunteering work also involved fundraising for multiple different charities including The Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC), Lighthouse Charity and now The Grand Appeal (Bristol Children's Hospital).

I am currently the Development Worker for the Eagles Non-Profit Trust and the Team Leader for the brand new Eagles South West Project.

We run a project known as the Eagles South West Project which is part of the Eagles Non-Profit Trust. We have various Mini Projects including Charitable Fundraising which cover's the work of various charities including; The Grand Appeal - Bristol Children's Hospital - which I am very keen to support because I had Cardiac and Orthopaedic Surgery there. I work with an Orthopaedic Surgeon in the hospital studying Health and Social Care, Level 3 to go onto do Paramedic Science at University.

Within the project we work with various charitable organisations that support people that are homeless and in need within our local area of WSM and surrounding areas. This is known as The Eagles Homeless Outreach - we work with Winter Warmth, Feed the Homeless WSM and Bristol and Somewhere To Go, for which we are planning an Easter Homeless Donation to support them.

We then have a third and final Mini Project Category known as 'Company and Project Partnerships'. We are currently supporting the 'Plastic Pollution Action and Awareness Project'. We are working closely with the Project Manager to plan on how we can support them with events to help the environment including Litter Picks and Fundraising Events for their Project and running Awareness Campaigns.

Another mini project we are planning on running is a brand new idea that we are just setting up at the moment known as 'Donate For Defib (W-s-M) Project' and this will be fundraising for local Difibulators in the local area, so we are looking forward to starting that very soon.

Weston College has set up a new competition to recognise students’ volunteering efforts.

The Community-Based Volunteering Project requires students to dedicate time to an organisation of their choosing over a set period.

As well as being hugely rewarding, the project is a fantastic opportunity to build employment contacts and will look great on CVs.

To enter the competition, learners must contact a charity or organisation they would like to help and put together a project proposal. This should include the organisation name, proposed number of hours and the resulting benefits.

Proposals must then be emailed to volunteering@weston.ac.uk and approved before the volunteering can take place. Once the projects have been completed and evaluated, a group of winners will be announced on the 14th June 2019. They will be awarded a financial fund to spend in agreement with tutors.

As well as entering the competition, learners can earn a Weston College Volunteering Award. This recognises the commitment and dedication that is shown show by volunteering. The award is structured into three tiers – bronze, silver and gold – which correspond to the number of hours spent volunteering within each academic year.

For more details, read to the Community Based Volunteering Project and Volunteering Award Guide or email volunteering@weston.ac.uk.

We’ve all heard of work experience and apprenticeships.

But where do traineeships fit in with these employment-focused schemes?

Basically, a traineeship is a training programme that features work experience and often acts as a stepping stone to an apprenticeship. Trainees often require English and maths qualifications, relevant training, or the experience required to gain their dream apprenticeship. A traineeship bridges the gap and is a great CV builder.

Traineeships are for 16 to 24-year-olds and are a fantastic way for young, motivated individuals to show employers that they are an ideal candidate.

We have seen many students progress rapidly from traineeships to apprenticeships with big firms such as GKN and Rolls Royce. This wouldn’t have been possible if they hadn’t completed their traineeship first.

Businesses can also reap a number of benefits from offering traineeships. Here are six:

• Traineeships allow you to select the best apprenticeship candidates for your business

• Trainees often become loyal employees

• Traineeships are fully funded by the government

• It is a cost effective method of recruiting new talent

• You can train a learner with the specific skills that your company is looking for

• Your current employees can gain experience managing trainees.

We often find that once a trainee has completed their programme, they are offered an apprenticeship by the same organisation. This shows the importance of taking a chance on someone whose CV doesn’t necessarily stand out.

Recruiting someone with the right attitude and motivation can be hard, but by offering a traineeship you can find the right character for your company.

You can find out more about traineeships, by clicking here.