OADG ADVOCACY TRAINING

INITIAL TRAINING

The intial training enables volunteers to find out more about advocacy and how OADG works, and whether being an advocate is something they want to do.

The initial training is the same for all volunteers and provides information about the different schemes that are run by OADG. This means that you do not need to make a decision about which scheme you work with until the training is over.

The first part is three days with some 'homework'. There is then three to six months during which time we hope to provide you with some opportunities to be an advocate or to shadow someone else who is an experienced advocate. At the end of that time we ask you to give a brief presentation of a piece of advocacy work and your training is complete!

All trainees, during their training, complete the work necessary for an Open College Network accreditation. This means that when you have completed the training you will receive a certificate that awards you 3 credits at Level 3 of the Open College Network. These credits can be added to others to build a well recognised qualification.

The initial training covers:

• What advocacy is and when it is needed
• Principles of advocacy
• Skills needed to be an advocate (listening, communicating, assertiveness, dealing with people in authority)
• Different types of advocacy provided by OADG
• Opportunities to look at and discuss case studies

FOLLOW UP TRAINING
Once volunteers have done the initial training and are working as advocates, OADG provides follow-up training which we recommend that you attend. These sessions cover topics suggested by our advocates in more detail and are an opportunity to discuss current partnerships (observing the rules of confidentiality) and get feedback from your peers.

Recent subjects that have been covered are:

• Multi-cultural working
• Non-instructed advocacy
• Advocate’s role and boundaries
• Risk and safety
• Communication skills