Getting involved with your community
Community involvement gives you opportunities to network and
gain valuable skills, knowledge and experience.
Your community is made up of lots of different groups of
people, for example:
- school boards and committees
- youth organisations
- professional interest groups
- not-for-profit enterprises
- cultural and creative groups
- volunteer groups.
Then there are larger organisations that bring groups
together, networks like Waterwatch, a national community
water-monitoring program funded by the Commonwealth
Government’s Natural Heritage Trust. Waterwatch involves
individuals, community groups and school groups in monitoring
and managing waterways in their catchment area.
Community involvement is about joining one or more of these
groups to exchange ideas, build partnerships and make things
happen. You may already be involved with a group, or thinking
about joining one.
If you’re looking for work, joining a community group can
help you by:
- showing that you can be committed to a task for a
substantial period
- demonstrating your skills to an employer
- giving you new skills to bring to the paid workforce.
For instance, as treasurer of your local neighbourhood
watch committee you can develop book-keeping skills.
- increasing your knowledge of an area you’re interested
in. You can apply this knowledge to volunteer work, or in a
paid work setting.
- showing what kind of a person you are—you can include
it among your interests in your resume.