Volunteer Induction Training Course - Evaluation Report
NHS Scotland volunteers who accessed the online volunteer induction course between April 2022 and March 2023 have provided positive feedback and identified a small number of improvements.
The NHS Scotland Volunteer Induction Course was developed by the NHS Scotland Volunteering Programme to provide a consistent introduction to volunteering across NHS Scotland for all volunteers no matter which NHS board they volunteer with.
The training course is a self-directed online learning resource hosted on NHS Education for Scotland's TURAS online learning platform with 10 modules for volunteers to work through at their own pace. Volunteers check their learning via a quiz at the end of the course and download a copy of their completion certificate to provide as evidence of their completion to their Volunteer Manager.
The training course content was developed in collaboration with Volunteer Managers from across NHS Scotland and is maintained, reviewed and updated on an annual basis by the NHS Scotland Volunteering Programme team. This approach has released capacity from within volunteering teams in NHS boards who are no longer required to carry out this function on a board-by-board basis.
Between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, a total of 657 learners began the training course. Of the 585 learners who completed the training course, 141 people provided feedback using the 5-star rating system which is built into the platform and 64 people provided a comment.
97% of respondents rated the course at least 4 stars.
Improvement and further development
During 2022-23 we responded to improvement feedback and suggestions from staff in NHS boards about the training course wherever possible. This has included:
- creating a step-by-step guide for new volunteers to create a TURAS account, find and complete the course and download their certificate of completion
- providing the course content on PowerPoint slides that enable staff to print off and provide to those volunteers who do not have online access
We have been unable to fulfil one request to create a MS Word version of the course content which was editable. So far this has not been possible as the TURAS platform does not allow for exporting of content to MS Word format. We are exploring further how we might be able to support this request going forward.
Conclusions
The number of learners across Scotland accessing and completing this training course, and the positive feedback from both volunteers and volunteering teams, shows that the training course meets the needs of both NHS board volunteering teams and the volunteers themselves. It provides evidence that the course has been useful and worthwhile, and suggests that the training course should continue to be maintained. Opportunities to develop further national volunteer-related training courses should also be explored.
Recommendations for further development and improvement
Based on feedback collected, we are suggesting further development in the following areas:
- Review the language and wording used within the quiz section to provide further clarity.
- Explore further the potential for creating an MS Word format version of the course materials.
- Use the information gathered in this evaluation as the basis to scope other national online learning opportunities for volunteers in NHS Scotland, as planned within the NHS Scotland Volunteering Programme Strategy 2022-26.