Student Volunteers » Citizens Advice St Albans District

Find out more about Student Placements

What's involved?

Our student/graduate scheme provides volunteering opportunities for those who will have completed at least two years of their degree when the scheme starts.

What we offer:

The academic year scheme runs for 6 months full-time or 12 months part-time starting in September. It is suitable for students who are required to spend all or part of one year of their course on a work placement. Our graduate scheme is for those who have successfully completed their degree and are either waiting to start further study or are looking for work experience to help them secure work in their chosen field.

We aim to recruit a group of students and graduates who will work together and support each other.

We don’t assume any knowledge but are looking for enthusiastic people with a passion for helping their community with an eye on their own career development.

We will provide enjoyable, interesting, structured and comprehensive training in all areas to equip you to provide a service to our clients. This will include training on how to engage with clients, interview and telephone skills. The academic year & graduate schemes also include training in key advice areas such as debt, benefits, housing, employment and family.

Early on in the training you will be required to speak to clients both on the telephone and face to face, which will build your confidence in using our systems and identifying and addressing client needs.

If you join the scheme, you will be able to help clients with their problems by providing structured information from approved information sources, once you have completed the necessary training

Why join our student placement scheme?

You will learn transferable new skills, (e.g. telephone and technical email communication, researching and explaining complex information, creating accurate case records, problem solving and supporting a wide range of different people) and you will use these skills to help others to improve their lives, which can be immensely satisfying
You will gain knowledge that may be useful in your own personal life, (e.g. where to go for help with housing and employment rights)
You will have invaluable work experience to add to your CV. Former students have found that their participation in one of our schemes was a main talking point in interviews
You may gain insights that help you to decide your future career direction or to identify areas for further study
References can be provided to future employers

What qualifications do I need?

There are no specific qualifications that we ask for but we need you to have completed at least two years of your university degree in any subject by the start of the placement and to:

Agree with our aims, principles and values
Respect people’s differences and treat everyone with courtesy and kindness
Like meeting new people and have an open, enquiring mind
Be able to focus on and pay close attention to the person you are helping
Be able to read carefully, digest and explain in simple language information that is complex
Be willing to learn and accept constructive feedback
Be patient and tolerant with yourself as well as others
Be flexible, willing to accommodate the needs of colleagues and to work to further the organisation’s aims
Understand that, for some of our clients, acknowledging that they have a problem and asking us for help may be the hardest step

How do I express my interest?

We hold virtual information sessions for our student schemes in the Spring each year. Look out for the date of the next session in our News Feed.

If you are still interested in joining one of our student schemes after attending an information session, we invite you to complete an application form, and a Diversity Monitoring Form & return them to us. You can access both documents below.

The information you share on the Monitoring Form will not be taken into account in the recruitment process.

Role description and application forms