Wednesday 9 September 2026 | 9.30am to 11.30am | Online via Zoom
Ticket price: Free for AVM Members
Refresher training is an essential part of supporting volunteers well, but it is often the point where enthusiasm starts to drop. This session looks at how organisations can make refresher training more practical, relevant, and engaging, while reducing unnecessary repetition and the risk of volunteer attrition.
You will explore what refresher training is for and how to make it work in busy, real-world settings. It will be especially useful for volunteer managers, coordinators, and anyone involved in designing or delivering volunteer learning.
The session will begin by considering common challenges with refresher training, including low attendance, information overload, and the difficulty of keeping content relevant for different roles. It will then look at how to decide what should be refreshed, what can be signposted elsewhere, and what can be reduced or removed.
You will hear practical examples and case study ideas from organisations that have reviewed or redesigned their approach. The session will also include interactive breakout discussions focused on implementation challenges, alongside shared reflection on what helps volunteers stay engaged.
The final part of the session will support you to think about next steps in your own organisations, with a focus on realistic changes that can improve the volunteer experience and make refresher training more effective.
This event will cover:
- The purpose of refresher training in a volunteer context.
- Common reasons volunteers disengage from refresher learning.
- What should be included in refresher training, and what could be left out.
- Ways to make refresher training more relevant, flexible, and engaging.
- How refresher learning can be embedded into ongoing support and supervision.
- Identify one practical action to improve your own refresher training approach.
Who is this event for?
This event is suitable for anyone working in the following types of role:
- Operational – focused on the day-to-day execution of the volunteer programme, managing the immediate needs of volunteers.
- Management or Strategic – overseeing multiple programmes, managing staff (paid or unpaid), and having budgetary and strategic input into the program’s direction.
Session overview
- Welcome and introductions
- Scene-setting short presentation
- Case study examples
- Interactive breakout discussions
- Plenary feedback
- Action planning activity
- Close and final reflections
About the presenters
Richard Dent – Volunteer Manager, SeeAbility
Richard Dent is Volunteer Manager at SeeAbility, a UK disability charity supporting people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss. With over 20 years’ experience across organisations including the British Red Cross, NHS and hospice sector, he leads volunteer recruitment, training and development. Richard manages a small team and oversees around 160 volunteers, championing the value of volunteering for both individuals and communities.
About Members’ Forums
Members’ Forums are interactive online sessions that provide a space for peer learning, discussion, problem-solving and practice sharing. They are an opportunity for members to share developments, challenges and solutions – learning from others to gain inspiration and practical insights.
This is a free event with a limited number of places
Please only sign up if you are definitely able to attend. If your availability changes and you can no longer attend, please email us to cancel your place and allow others to book a place and attend instead. Thank you.
Not an AVM Member?
If you’re not an AVM member, you can join AVM today to gain access to this event, as well as lots of other benefits including access to other free member-only events, discounts for all public events and the annual AVM conference.
Join AVM now to gain access to this event