Volunteer Roles Defined

At our recruitment launch event yesterday in UWE’s Department of Computer Science and Creative Technologies we were able to tell students about the variety of roles available:

Connect<>Lockleaze Project

>Connect Lockleaze is about working with people who are digitally excluded. >UWE and HP have collaborated to support local people to access and use computers and the internet and get FREE help to improve their IT skills. >In an increasingly digital age, there is a huge need to help people take their first steps and discover the uses of computers and the internet! >Volunteers will be based at one of 3 community centres in Lockleaze, right next to Frenchay Campus. There are lots of ways to get involved!

Basic IT Skills Tutor

• Role Description - Volunteers will be helping people 1:1 to get more confidence using computers. You will help local people to find their way around a computer, use the internet and learn other basics like creating simple documents. There is a huge demand for 1:1 tutoring to encourage people to take their first steps using computers and the internet.
• Skills - If you would like to see people learn and grow in confidence, this is the role for you! If you have a particular interest like digital photos, social media, skype or online shopping, then you can help to lead a short session on a topic! Basic IT Skills are necessary. 
• Time commitment - Sessions will run on Wednesdays, 13:30-15:30 during term time. Generally you would be expected to attend every week. 

Community Hub Leaders

• Role Description - Assist local people to use open access, free computer facilities in the community. You will be responsible for welcoming visitors to one of the centres, showing first time users how to log on and get started and provide basic help and troubleshooting.
• Skills - You need to enjoy working with people, and be willing to help them get the most out of the facilities. You will need a good knowledge of IT though you do not need any particular expertise. You need to feel confident about helping with things like printing problems, basic formatting of Word documents and internet searches. Crucially you will be a friendly and welcoming face encouraging people to have a go. You will need to adapt to the different ages, abilities and needs of users.
• Time commitment - As you will be responsible for setting up the facilities and assisting users at open access drop in sessions, it is very important that you commit to the sessions you volunteer for. You would volunteer once a week for a maximum of 3 hours.  

Technical Support Team

• Role Description - As part of the tech support team, you would be responsible for providing regular maintenance of the PCs and laptops. This might include software updates, managing user accounts, adding and removing software programmes, deleting out of date files, adding devices to the network and providing troubleshooting support.
• Skills - You must be familiar with Windows 7, and familiar with the administrator functions. As part of the support team you will be required to work as a group to determine the best IT solutions to meet the needs of the 3 IT hubs and their users. A knowledge of internet security is also of value and a willingness to research and work together to solve problems.
• Time commitment - This is a flexible role though you will be expected to undertake the role on the 3 sites in Lockleaze, planning your time around the centre opening hours and preparing to volunteer in advance of courses and events to ensure the IT is set up in advance. Regular maintenance sessions will be planned with you. These would be scheduled once a month during term time, but other sessions will be required particularly around special events, and you will have the option of being on-call to help solve problems as they arise!

Web Designer/Web Master

• Role Description - Initially you will help to set up something with free hosting, like a google site. This is an opportunity to develop a web structure to accommodate a variety of content, including course listings, news, case studies and images. You will be working alongside the coordinators of the "Connect<>Lockleaze" project to develop and maintain a website as a useful resource for local people that could encourage people to get involved in community learning. We have bought our domain name so we are ready to get started! We need a few volunteers who can help to write copy for the site as well as design and build it! Depending on your strongest skills we can find a role for you in maintaining the site.
• Skills - You need to be confident in either your web design skills, including CSS and web standards, or in your ability to plan a structure or general writing skills. You'll also need to have good time management skills to meet relevant deadlines.
• Time commitment - This role is very flexible. We will arrange regular meetings/communication with you, and you can volunteer remotely too. You will need to prioritise your workload, particularly when adding/updating information that might be time/date specific. We expect you to volunteer for at least one term.

How to get involved

Contact Jo, the Volunteer Co-ordinator for the Project: e-mail jo.earl@uwe.ac.uk, phone 0117 328 2513 or drop into the Octagon on Frenchay Campus.