# Child.org’s Charity Apprentice course is free for 2017

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/11/04/child-orgs-charity-apprentice-course-free-2017/
- Published: 2016-11-04T13:16:05+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**International children’s charity Child.org is removing the fee for its Charity
Apprentice course for 2017 courtesy of funding from a trust.**

The [Charity Apprentice](http://charityapprentice.org) course is designed to offer
a route into the charity sector, and to attract new talent to the sector. The foundation
course is run by charity professionals and can be undertaken by anyone in their 
spare time.
Until now it has cost £1,100, but following a grant from the [Sofronie Foundation](http://sofronie.org),
the charity is removing the course fee for students and graduates for a limited 
time. All other applicants will be asked to pay just £30 as an admin fee to sign
up.

The foundation supports work with children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds
in the UK and overseas.

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The course has been developed to give the experience needed to navigate the sector,
specialise according to individual strengths and goals, and even start an enterprise.

## Charity Apprentice platform

Students enrolled in the course gain access to the Charity Apprentice online platform,
residential boot camps and “real-world marketing and fundraising challenges”. The
course offers a combination of practical experience and theoretical understanding
of the charity sector.

Thomas Muirhead, Managing Director at Child.org said:

> “Now more than ever, the charity sector must innovate and grow, simply to keep
> up with the challenges we face globally. In order to do that we need good people
> from all walks of life. Unfortunately, routes into the industry are not open to
> all – often requiring that people work free of charge, for long periods of time
> just in order to gain basic skills.
> “By opening up this course, we hope to offer
> more great candidates from a diverse pool of talent a stepping stone towards a
> future in the charity sector and we are extremely grateful to the Sofronie foundation
> for enabling us to do that.”

_[Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utu1iiO3UQg no longer available]._
 The
course has already attracted hundreds of students ranging from university graduates
to those in their 50s and 60s looking for a career change.

Anna Donaldson, a 2016 Charity Apprentice, said:

> “Before I even completed my year as a Charity Apprentice, I had my first paid 
> job offer in the charity sector and the opportunity to work for something really
> worthwhile that I am incredibly proud of… Access to invaluable resources, constant
> encouragement and support and a fantastic opportunity to work in Kenya has not
> only clarified what impact I’d like to make in my lifetime, it has opened up the
> opportunity for me to get paid to do it.”

## Social enterprise

Charity Apprentice is a social enterprise developed by [Child.org](http://www.child.org).
It’s other enterprising initiatives include [Charity Concierge](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/06/02/charity-donate-50-charities-volunteers-volunteer-festivals/),
its multi-charity fundraising service at festivals.

Its Managing Director Thomas Muirhead gave a TEDx talk on why charities need to 
move [beyond giving](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/04/25/thomas-muirhead-charities-must-move-beyond-giving/).

> Applications are open now and this year, places are FREE! Find out more & sign
> up on the website: [https://t.co/00jKfXm6p2](https://t.co/00jKfXm6p2). [#charitycareers](https://twitter.com/hashtag/charitycareers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> [pic.twitter.com/eF0FosfjfJ](https://t.co/eF0FosfjfJ)
> — Utopy (@utopy_co) [October 7, 2016](https://twitter.com/utopy_co/status/784343153503375360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)