The Careers Service is hosting a 'Charity Careers - Networking Event' on Thursday, 12th March from 4-6pm. We thought ahead of this fantastic event, we would shine a light on this immensely rewarding sector.
Charities are regulated by the Charities Commission and the Charities Act 2011; there are 164,345 registered charities in England and Wales alone (and another 23,770 equivalents in Scotland and 7,000 in Northern Ireland). Between them they employ over 900,000 people, with 3.4 million volunteers and 945,000 trustees. The charity sector is also described as 'the third sector', 'not for profit' or 'voluntary sector'.
Many charities operating today are highly professional, lean and efficient organisations which are finding new ways to adapt to the changes in funding patterns they've faced over the last decade. If you are considering working in the sector, you may want to think about the type of work you want to do. The sector offers opportunities to work in the UK and abroad; you can work in areas such as:
- Administration
- Community development
- Finance
- Fundraising
- Human resources
- Campaigning, communications and public relations
- Policy and research
- Volunteer management and coordination.
Entry points into the sector are varied, some charities offer structured graduate schemes; although quite rare and mainly serve larger organisations. Far greater opportunities exist as a direct entry route - this is where you apply for advertised vacancies. For more information you may want to look at this very detailed and informative resource produced by the careers team here at Bath. You may also want to follow Beyond Profit a useful resource on Twitter created by Oxford Careers. Finally, it is important to demonstrate commitment to the sector through volunteering. This can not only help you in learning about the sector but will also enable you to tap into hidden vacancies.
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