BASINGSTOKE and District Learning Partnership is a scheme managed by Basingstoke Voluntary Action, in partnership with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and local external training providers

In addition to sessions delivered internally, training is arranged on request.

To date there have been over 25 sessions delivered, increasing to 40 by July - covering a range of themes of significant relevance to the voluntary and community sector, such as GDPR; trustees and governance; fundraising; and aspects of volunteer management.

Many courses are also designed to complement specific areas of service delivery within the local voluntary sector, often in connection to working with young people, such as safeguarding; cognitive behavioural therapy; and a range of youth work training. There are also sessions developed with older people and certain health conditions in mind.

Whilst these courses are beneficial to the charity and voluntary community, they are heavily subsidised, therefore often requiring a minimum number of bookings in order to ensure good value effective delivery, which can occasionally affect service provision.

The value of this programme cannot be underestimated, however to best benefit our members and in turn the wider community we want to adapt, keeping up with the rapidly changing requirements of the third sector.

With this in mind, Basingstoke Voluntary Action will shortly be working with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in developing the training calendar for academic year 2019-20, so we need to hear from the community about what training will most benefit organisations.

This year organisers are already looking into adding classes such as customer service and fire warden training, as well as scheduling extra instances

Email training@bvaction.org.uk to say what specific training opportunities or workshops should be set up next year in Basingstoke and the surrounding districts.