New to BCS volunteering
Welcome to life as a BCS volunteer. To help you start your volunteering journey with us, you should first book yourself onto a Volunteers Meet & Greet session. This will help you to decide what you want to get out of volunteering, what opportunities are available to you, and how you can achieve your volunteering goals.
We host a Volunteers Meet & Greet session every other month. You can register to an upcoming session via our Events Calendar.
Our Volunteer Handbook also covers a few basics to help you get started. Refer to this as needed and if you’re unsure of anything feel free to contact us, or other volunteers in your network.
What is BCS volunteering?
BCS volunteers are a cohort with shared values on a mission to ‘make IT good for society’. Our volunteers perform a variety of roles across the organisation – from joining boards and committees driving change, to organising events for member groups, and working with BCS Policy to form white papers on the hottest issues in IT.
In this video, Rebecca George explains why you should volunteer.
Why should I volunteer?
Your volunteering role will enable you to meet people outside of your current network and be part of a wider community. Whichever role you take on, you will be learning new skills, which are applicable not just to BCS volunteering but to your wider professional life.
Volunteering Opportunities
There are many ways to volunteer with BCS, allowing volunteers to own their own development and engage with BCS in a way which best matches their wants and needs.
- Member Groups
Discover the different roles you can play on a member group committee. From Chair or Treasurer, to Inclusion Officer or Early Careers Advocate. Check out our Volunteer Vacancies to find out more, including how to apply.
- TEALS
TEALS is a BCS initiative that helps teachers, particularly non-specialists, by pairing them with volunteers from industry who can boost subject knowledge in the classroom, enrich student learning, and accelerate the professional development of computing teachers. Volunteering with TEALS will require least one hour per week in the classroom (or remotely) plus 30 minutes per week for lesson planning during term time (typically 38 weeks per year). For more information, check out our dedicated TEALS page. You can register your interest in getting involved with the program on our TEALS for volunteers page.
- Become an Assessor
Have you ever considered a role that makes use of your skills, experience and knowledge? If so, then you may be interested in becoming an Approved BCS assessor. This role of assessor requires a minimum commitment of 2-4 hours per month. You can find more information, including assessor testimonies and application guidance, on our Become a BCS assessor page.
- Become a Mentor
Mentoring is a way for individuals to reach their potential and can be a valuable Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activity for both the mentor and the mentee. You can read more about the BCS mentoring scheme on MyBCS under Find a mentor.
Note, to register to become a mentor, you need to click Find a mentor. This opens the registration form whereby you can create a mentor profile or a mentee profile.
- My Digital Future
My Digital Future is a three-year programme of tailored support for young people aged 16-24 including one-to-one and small group coaching, financial support for IT equipment, training materials or travel, and access to the benefits of BCS membership. Volunteers are asked to commit one hour a month to provide a one-to-one or group coaching session. Alternatively, volunteers can offer their expertise through work experience or Ask the Expert sessions. Find our more here.
- Barefoot
Barefoot empowers primary school teachers across the UK to deliver the computing curriculum brilliantly with free workshops, helpful online guides and engaging lessons. Barefoot is on the side of teachers; helping them inspire pupils to think, learn and thrive in a digital world. Find out more here.
If you're interested in volunteering with us, we'd love to hear from you! You can get in touch with the Community team by completing our contact form.
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