I find no offence in OP's question by itself, but if you left it at that then yeah I could see someone with a stick stuck up the backside having a problem.
For other parts of the thread. I did MWA last year, I had a month sentence and after that I stayed on as a volunteer for 3 months, and the place I was working agreed to at least pay my travel expenses after I asked them, stating that I don't want to leave but I can't afford to travel. I stayed because I made good friends there, I was learning new skills whether I can utilize them by myself or not(plumbing and pipework), and a nice bonus or so I thought is that it would make the Jobcentre happy. Well my Advisor liked I was doing it, but 4 months later she still followed protocol and attempted to refer me to another program, meaning I would have to leave a place I had developed myself to for 4 months, as it happens I got an Xmas job and signed off in the same interview she told me this. After Xmas I went back to my Volunteer job.
Do I think it helped me? not really, no interviewer for a job seemed to care or give positive feedback, all the interviewer wants to know is if I can do their job, and 4 months of Maintenance work at a Football ground isn't going to help me write an Excel spreadsheet, nor will ringing up tills in a charity shop as a side opinion. The only people who thinks it's positive is the Jobcentre and those who give courses through the Jobcentre. Infact I recall back to an agency I had phoned for the first time, about 1 minute into the interview the guy got annoyed at me, like I was wasting his time, then he power tripped and for 15 minutes told me what I should and shouldn't be doing to find work, and he mentioned volunteer work, I told for the last 4 months I have been volunteering and where, and he told me it doesn't matter. As much as an ass orifice the guy was, he was still right, and I knew he was right before and after I phoned him, but being on JSA I don't have a say where I get volunteered to work, and still they want us to use the fact we volunteered as the crux of why someone should employ us. The whole process of MWA stinks, it doesn't work, I'm not saying volunteering doesn't work, but when it comes out of the Jobcentre it doesn't work because it's not your interests they have in mind, it's IDS and the Government statistics, and anything you are doing yourself while signed on, like volunteer work will be overruled by any hoop the JC want you to jump through. Remember Poundland girl.
Other things that happened while I was on MWA and extended volunteer work. The volume of "volunteers" the place goes through caused paid workers to lose hours even days for a short time, it stopped when the volunteer numbers were to low and they were needed back. And lastly, the place I was buying plumbing supplies from had a job opening for sales and the guy I was working with persuaded me to apply, so I did. The next time we went in I talked to the manager again and he asked me the situation, so I said it's not really my thing, I was sort of put forward unwillingly and that I don't belong on that side of the counter, the guy was cool and understood where I was coming from and respected my decision, because he also doesn't want an employee that's not into it.
In the right circumstances volunteering is effective but only as long as the volunteer is in control of it. I made good friends, built lots of bridges and met people who did have job openings, just a shame it wasn't my cup of tea, I wasn't so desperate that a job is a job, I also shopped for job satisfaction. Which is something else the JC doesn't care if you have, they just want you signed off.
Why are you garnishing AGE UK with a multitude of CEO's ?
Age UK is the umbrella corp.
