How to volunteer
Fancy becoming a Preston FM volunteer?
Here’s how it works…
- Go to our on-line registration form and fill in your details.
- Your details will then be logged onto our secure database.
- You will receive an email thanking you for registering with us. We run courses for new volunteers 4-5 times a year, we’ll send you an email with further details of times and dates the courses are due to run. We usually announce course dates and times about six weeks in advance.
- If you’ve received an email stating times and dates of upcoming courses, decide which of the courses you are available to attend. Then phone or e-mail us at the station letting us know which course (one or more) you want to apply for.
- We will set a deadline for you to let us know by, which will also be noted in the email. (If you’re available for more than one course, please let us know which course you prefer as a first choice, along with any other courses you will be available to attend.)
- We will start allocating places for people after the deadline for applying. During this week, we will consider a place for each person that has applied. It doesn’t matter whether you apply a long time in advance, or just before the deadline.
- We allocate places in order to make sure this opportunity is available to a wide range of people, and to make sure that our volunteers reflect the full range of Preston’s communities in terms of age, background, geography and previous experience. We also give priority to people from Preston and South Ribble, over those living in areas where there are other community radio stations.
- We’ll let you know about a week after the deadline whether we can offer you a place on a course. If we can offer you a place, you’ll need to get in contact with us to confirm if you are able to attend.
- Once you’ve confirmed, that’s it – you don’t need to bring anything with you, just turn up to your first session and we will have everything here ready for you to get started with your training!
What happens on the course?
- You’ll learn everything you need to know to produce a great radio show on 103.2 Preston FM. Everything from planning a show, learning interview techniques, making good features, getting technical with all the knobs and bobs in the studio, right down to setting up your own webpage for your show.
- During the training, you will also create a short practise show with your group; you will then be teamed up with other volunteers from your course to make three monthly shows for our morning “Fresh On Air” slot.
What happens next?
- After you have completed your “Fresh On Air” shows, you’ll have the opportunity to apply for a regular show. You can stay working with other people from your training group if you like, or decide to do something on your own.
- We will send you a ‘Broadcast commitment form’ a few weeks before the end of your time on “Fresh On Air”. You’ll need to fill this in to let us know the times when you’re available to broadcast a show and to let us know what sort of show you’d like to do.
- You’ll get details of your regular show slot about a month before the first one is due on-air, to give you time to prepare.
And then?
- It’s completely up to you were you take it from here. You can continue making shows with us on a regular basis, arrange to do special one-off shows if necessary or perhaps use your new skills to help get a career in broadcasting or presenting. There’s all kinds of directions you can take your experience from doing a course with Preston FM.
- After completing a radio production course, you will also have the chance to get yourself an N.C.F.E certificate in radio production. This qualification is equivalent to G.C.S.E level and also recognised by other radio stations and employers.
- We will provide all the support and training you need to get what you want out of the station. Preston FM has a friendly atmosphere and all of our staff and volunteers are ready to help you get to were you want to be.
- The possibilities of community radio are endless and it is only limited by your own imagination. We don’t tell you what to play or what to say, we just simply give you the guidance necessary to create a fantastic show and let you take it were you want it to go. So take advantage of what’s on offer, it’s your community, your radio and your chance to express yourself!
Volunteer registration
We’re always keen to hear from people who’d like to volunteer at Preston FM – as presenters, producers, technicians, journalists or in some other way. We currently work with around 350 regular volunteers, and try and offer opportunities for as many new people as possible to join our volunteer team around four times each year.
Please use this form to give us some information about you. We’ll then get in touch when we’re planning our next round of courses for new volunteers – for more information about our selection process and how our training programmes work, take a look at our how to volunteer pages [link].
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