UKC

This might seem a daft question, how does one volunteer for Scottish mountain rescue when the team has no recruitment procedure. Don't like emailing the team direct in case they think here we go again another idiot wanting on the team.

In reply to Jeremy Foster:

Visit them in person.

In reply to Jeremy Foster:

Contacts are always useful - are there any friends, or friends of friends, on the team you're looking to join? An informal, quiet approach can work wonders (it's how I got into my local team).

But a more direct approach can be equally successful. If you can find out who organises the training schedule, a polite message stating an interest - with a one-line summary of your relevant experience - and asking if you could observe a suitable training session would be a good way to go. Volunteering to be a casualty demonstrates a genuine desire to be useful.

Is there also a social membership or fundraising volunteers section? Showing active support would get your name on any shortlist of candidates.

If you want to do it, it oughtn't to be much of a mission to get there.

Martin

In reply to Jeremy Foster:

I coordinate the training of our new intake in my MRT and though we have a recruitment policy outlined on our website, I'd have no problem with someone just emailing the team asking how to go about joining. At the very least it shows you're being active about your interest in joining rather than just clicking a button saying 'join here'.

In reply to Welsh Kate:

If you don't know anyone in the team, then an email to them briefly outlining your experience (ie "competent multipitch climber up to VS" rather than a list of the routes you've led ), and saying you'd be interested in joining or helping out in other ways, and asking how you could get involved would go down fine, I'm sure.

Plus, potentially worth mentioning how available you might expect to be - e.g. If you're likely to be able to get away from work for daytime callouts you're generally more use than someone who works away for most of the week.....