Type of Work
The first thing to say about the type of work carried out by volunteers on is that most of it is unskilled – as a rule you do not need specific skills, qualifications or experience to join the majority of projects we offer.The Search function on this site enables you to look for Short-Term Group Projects according to the type of work you are interested in. All the projects are categorised by the following definitions:
- Archaeology: supporting practical and academic archaeological research, eg. site clearance, cataloguing, recording, etc.
- Construction: the building of new community facilities and/or the improvement of historically important structures.
- Cultural: creative projects such as supporting festivals/events; community arts activities; music projects; sports activities, etc.
- Education: any form of work which is explicitly focused on learning: teaching (usually language/s), whether in a formal or informal setting; activities to raise awareness within a community, eg, on environmental or health issues.
- Environmental: practical work to conserve, protect and improve the natural environment: projects with animals, footpath work, tree planting, gardening, clearing & improving landscapes, beach cleaning, etc.
- Social: any project where the main purpose is to support a specific group of people, eg. children, young people, elderly people and/or people with disabilities. The work could be anything from running a playscheme to gardening with elderly people.
- *Other: agricultural work, study projects focused on a theme, meditation & yoga, etc.
* We only list study projects if they include an element of practical voluntary work in addition to the theme.
Projects which fall within the Medium and Long-Term Placements and the European Voluntary Service (EVS) cover a broader range of activities as they are mostly individual placements, as compared to group activities. Longer term volunteering projects often include all of the above plus more, eg:
- Campaigning and awareness work, eg. for human rights or environmental issues
- Co-ordination work, eg. managing other volunteers working on any of the above activities
- Performance, eg. circus or theatrical work
- Research work, eg. looking at the status and situations of asylum seekers
- Youth work