Rachel Ross is Deputy Chief Officer for the Association of Voluntary Organisations in Wrexham. She was one of the first volunteers to participate in International Learning Opportunities, a leadership development programme delivered by the Welsh Assembly Government’s Public Service Management Wales and VSO. She worked at the Ministry of Agriculture in Cameroon where she developed and delivered training in strategic planning to senior staff. Here Rachel talks about how volunteering overseas has made her a better leader for Wales.

“Wales is a very small country and if we’re going to be a strong dynamic country in the 21st century we are going to have to be making a massive splash in the world, we are going to have to be punching far above our weight. So the way to do that is through strong dynamic leaders.

Applying for International Learning Opportunities was about me getting an experience I couldn’t get in my normal day-to-day work. I was hoping to get the opportunity to manage at a very different level. And that happened because I worked with very senior managers from within the government.

In Cameroon there was no question of being able to say ‘no, I don’t think I can do that’, so when I was pushed in front of the deputy prime minister and told to tell him about my work, that was very difficult. When I had to run a three-day workshop as the sole facilitator, that was very difficult. But when I have challenges in my work now I am able to think ‘do you know what, I probably can do that’.

So what I have learnt the most is confidence, not being over confident but just understanding that we’ve all got a lot of resources that we don’t draw upon because we’re a little bit frightened. Volunteering pushes you so that all of the skills you have become absolutely innate. You are doing things that were right at the edge of your experience before without thinking about it. You have a whole skill set that is completely within your comfort zone and you’re ready to move on again.

If I were going to speak to someone who was considering the International Learning Opportunity, I would say ‘try it because you won’t regret it’. The friendships I made and the skills that I learned will stay with me for the rest of my life.

You will feel frightened, but if you get through the interviews with PSMW and VSO and if you get through the training you are the right person to go. They wouldn’t be sending you if you weren’t. So you have to go out there and you have to show the world just how great it is to be a leader in Wales and how great Welsh leaders are.”

International Learning Opportunities is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government’s Wales for Africa Framework, which includes a commitment to strengthen organisations in sub-Saharan Africa.

If you are interested in applying to International Learning Opportunities contact Public Service Management Wales: 02920 681289 or via email at psmw@wales.gsi.gov.uk