Training

Voluntary Action Sheffield is committed to developing and promoting training opportunities for the voluntary and community sector.

You can book places on VAS training courses through this website (subject to availability and confirmation).

If you are unsure about whether a course meets your training needs, please contact the Training Team before you book. You can also contact us to discuss a training requirement that is not in the current programme.

Current Special Offers  

Early Bookings

All bookings received before 31 August 2010 will benefit from a 10% discount.

Free Places

Book 10 course places at one time and receive an 11th place for free. The 11th place must be a one day course.

The above two offers are only available on internet bookings. Bookings made with these discounts will not be refundable under any circumstances.

Other Offers

Other offers will be available throughout the year and will be publicised via our e-network. To join our e-network and to receive these offers, send an email to training@vas.org.uk

Browse training by category

How to book

Contacts

Our training programme is available as a full version (2Mb). All courses can be booked online

VAS training includes:

  • programmes of short and longer courses throughout the year including Management, Administration, Communicating, Finance, Mental Health, Personal Development, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Working with Service Users
  • accredited national qualifications
  • 'tailor made' and 'Off the peg' training for groups and management committees
  • low cost or free places for volunteers and members of small groups
  • opportunities for gaining qualifications and accreditation with many VAS courses

Cost and Practicalities

How to book

Contacts in VAS

VAS Learner Handbook

Candidate Pack for ILM Awards

Other links

VAS Training Programme

VAS Training programme 2010-11 (PDF, 2Mb)

Training course booking form (word)

How to Book

You can either:

  • Book online - Your place will be confirmed on receipt of your online booking or printed form, subject to availability. If applicable, you will be sent an invoice.
  • Print out and complete the training course booking form and send it, along with any payment, to: The Training Team, Voluntary Action Sheffield, The Circle, 33 Rockingham Lane, Sheffield S1 4FW or fax to 0114 2536601.

    (Please note: some longer courses have an additional application form and some courses may have a pre-course questionnaire.)

    We cannot accept telephone bookings or reservations. We prefer to use email and we will send you an email to confirm that your place has been booked. Please let us know if you have not heard from us within a reasonable amount of time of submitting your form, as you can only attend a course once you have received written confirmation. We will sending joining instructions at least 14 days before each event which will include venue details. We cannot accept responsibility for non-arrival of this information. If you have not heard from us 7 days before the event you should contact us.

Email enquiries:training@vas.org.uk

We ask for a personal phone number so that we can reach you in an emergency with any last-minute changes.

Course costs

Please refer to the cost band quoted with the details of each course in the Training Programme. We regret that some courses are subject to additional costs associated with Awarding Body registration.

Cost bands: price per person on an Open course.

 

A

1/2 day

B

1 day

C

1 1/2 days

D

2 days

VAS members

40

80

120

160

Voluntary or
Community Groups

45

90

135

180

Statutory or other

80

160

240

320

Longer courses are individually priced. Please see the individual course description for details.

Tailored training

Tailored training delivered at your premises costs around £850 for a one day course (20% discount for voluntary community sector orgs)

'Off the peg' courses (such as First Aid) delivered at your premises will cost between £600 - £800

Low cost and free places on training courses

The VAS Training Bursary can provide low cost or free places for:

  • volunteers and management committee members
  • paid staff from groups with (organisational) incomes of up to £50,000 per year
  • Members of unfunded community and self-help groups

To apply for a bursary, please request a form at the time of booking. If you are offered a subsidised or free place, you will need to pay a deposit by cheque, which is the normal fee for the course. Your place will not be guaranteed unless this deposit is paid in advance. Upon attending the course the deposit cheque will be returned to you.

Cancellations

Please let us know as soon as possible if you cannot attend. If someone else is attending in your place, please complete a booking form to inform us of this. We cannot accept telephone cancellations or amendments. Changes to an existing booking, or bookings made on the day of a course may incur a £10 administration fee.

For cancellations made more than 21 days before an event there will be no charge. Between 21 and 14 days before the event, there is a 50% charge and for less than 14 days notice the fee will be 100%.

Unfilled places (where a learner or a replacement learner fails to attend) will not be refunded. Bookings made and cancelled within 21 days of the start of the course will be charged at the relevant course fee. To receive a refund please write to us either by email, fax or letter. VAS reserves the right to withdraw a course at any time. In these circumstances, participants will be offered a full refund or an alternative course or date, if applicable.

Venues

Most of our courses are held in Sheffield. All the venues we use are accessible to disabled people.

Please tell us in advance if you have any particular requirements.

Lunch

On full day courses VAS provides a BASIC lunch of vegetarian sandwiches and fruit. Refreshments are available throughout the session and on all other courses. Please ensure that you tell us of special dietary requirements when you book.

Training contacts

For information about courses, tailored training for groups and other training issues, contact:

Booking information

Training Team, 0114 2536623 or training@vas.org.uk

Event Management

Comments & complaints

If you have other comments, feedback or complaints about VAS's training services, please contact:
John Farmer, External Services Manager, on 2536628, j.farmer@vas.org.uk

Other links