idealist.org

Need Professional Development, Can’t Travel?

A resource roundup from Erin.


By Flickr user markhillary With a slumping global economy contributing to even fewer available resources for professional development, many in the nonprofit sector may find that attending trainings and workshops is increasingly difficult to do. Fortunately, innovative, accessible, and affordable methods for gaining and honing needed skills are going more and more mainstream. One such option? Webinars.

Two that may be of interest to our readers include the Everyone Ready® online volunteer management training program offered by Energize, Inc., and Idealist's own webinar series for career service professionals at colleges and universities.

There are a couple of different types of webinars available. One version is to participate in a real-time training, following along with online visuals while listening to presenters and participating in discussions by phone or Internet. This style of webinar provides attendees with the opportunity to interact directly with presenters and colleagues, asking questions and contributing to the dialogue in real time.

Idealist.org is offering its first series of real-time webinars for professionals who offer career advice about understanding the nonprofit sector. Upcoming topics for webinars and expert panels include “What job seekers need to know about the nonprofit sector” and “International volunteering and service options.”

Other types of online trainings are guided training programs or distance learning courses delivered via the Internet such as the Volunteer Engagement and Leadership Program Online Courses (VELP) offered by Portland State University or Energize, Inc.’s Everyone Ready® online volunteer management training program for volunteer resource managers and those who work with volunteers. While these trainings don’t allow for live interactions with the trainers and other attendees, there is more ability to go at the pace that works best for you and interaction with peers and trainers is encouraged and facilitated via discussion boards. These types of trainings also tend to offer a variety of learning tools.

For example, the Everyone Ready program offers pre-recorded, go-at-your-own-pace Online Seminars or downloadable Self-Instruction Guides plus continuous access to a professional volunteer management online journal and links to other resources for in-depth learning. Participants can choose the pace of their own training, deciding whether to complete the materials in one sitting or parceling them out over 30 days. The result? Busy volunteer managers with little time and limited budgets have an accessible way to learn from national and international experts in their field.

Ready to get started? If you are a career advisor, learn more about the Idealist webinar series. And if you’re a volunteer resource manager interested in exploring the Everyone Ready series of trainings, click here; next month’s online seminar will be on “New Approaches to Volunteer Recruitment” and Energize, Inc. is offering a two-month trial membership.