Volunteer Training and Certification

Volunteers play an important role in providing health and education services and in supporting youth development and family programs. Hiring volunteers can be a cost effective way to supplement services provided by paid staff. In addition, many military youth and family support programs rely on volunteers to operate effectively. This report provides an introduction to volunteering, volunteer training, and volunteer certificate programs, with particular attention given to the benefits of volunteer training for organizations and volunteers. General approaches and theories relevant to volunteer trainings, training delivery systems, and best practices are described. In particular, it can be especially helpful to build on volunteers’ current competencies, create a supportive environment, and enhance social interactions between volunteers and paid staff during training. Including experienced volunteers in training sessions and delivering booster sessions or on-going training opportunities for volunteers can also be useful.