Read Nora's story of how she turned to volunteering to build her skills and confidence.
Nora journey into volunteering began after finishing education and actively searching for paid work. Without previous experience in her top career interests—admin, reception, and retail—she turned to volunteering to build skills, confidence, and a strong routine.
Over the past few years, Nora has taken on a wide variety of volunteering opportunities, including roles at Leicester ShopMobility, Sue Young Cancer Support, Leicester College, Wesley Hall Community Centre, Twin Training, and the British Heart Foundation. These roles have helped her develop practical abilities in customer service, administration, teamwork, front of house responsibilities, communication, and organisation.
Through volunteering, Nora has seen significant personal growth. She has become more confident, improved her social skills, and learnt how to work both independently and as part of a team. Each placement has helped her explore different job roles and understand what she enjoys and excels at.
Today, Nora continues to volunteer while actively looking for paid employment. Her future goal is to work in Admin, Reception, or Retail, with a particular interest in places like HMV or Superdrug. She hopes her experience will inspire others to try volunteering to gain confidence, meet people, and build valuable skills for future employment.
“Hopefully, I can inspire some people to start volunteering to build confidence, meet new people and learn new skills to help with looking for paid roles and employment.” – Nora
