Leading professional associations and board-level volunteering experts have been meeting to discuss new ways of encouraging skilled professionals to become trustees, board members of public bodies and school governors.

This, the first meeting of its kind, involved representatives from the Appointments Commission, Getting on Board, the Charity Commission and School Governors' One-Stop Shop sitting down with Bar in the Community, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Institute of Directors, LawWorks and the Institute of Fundraising.

Sarah Hodgkinson, Chief Executive of Getting on Board, said: "We are delighted that leading professional associations in key areas have agreed to work with us to stimulate interest and action amongst their members. Positively activating their membership is a significant step, and will provide a greater number of talented board-level volunteers."

Recognising the considerable contribution members of Institute of Directors (IoD) can make as volunteer board members, Dr Roger Barker, Head of Corporate Governance at IoD, said: "The IoD welcomes this initiative. Board-level volunteering is an excellent way for directors to give something back to the community. It also provides an effective means by which aspiring directors can develop their governance and leadership skills, with positive implications for their overall career development".

Supporting this collaborative initiative, Steve Acklam, Chief Executive of School Governors' One-Stop Shop, said: "We believe this co-operative approach is both exciting and relevant. Support from their organisations will help to encourage members from a range of professions to volunteer, while research proves that volunteering as a school governor genuinely can provide an opportunity for individual growth and skill-set development. I hope that many more professionals will engage with us as a result of this co-operation."

Others who attended the meeting commented:-

Anna Wallace, Public Affairs Officer, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development: "We know recruitment is going to be very slow in the coming months and board-level volunteering is a great, cost-effective way for businesses to grow their internal talent. The CIPD continues to encourage its members to use Getting on Board to develop their own and their workforce's skills base."

Caron Bradshaw, Head of Charity and the Voluntary Sector, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales: "The ICAEW is working hard to encourage its members to make the most of volunteering opportunities; for what they can put in as well as what they can get out of such roles. We are delighted with the opportunity to liaise with other organisations towards making our aspirations a reality."

Paul Marvell, Director of Learning, Institute of Fundraising: "The Institute of Fundraising believes that professional fundraisers have a vital and much needed role to play as members on boards of charities. We also recognise the value of the experience as a key component of fundraisers' continuing professional development. We are happy to support any initiative that will encourage our members to take this step".

Fact File:

• There are:
• - over 800,000 charity trustee positions and almost 180,000 registered charities in England and Wales
• - 300,000 school governor places in 21,400 schools in England
• - approximately 18,500 public body board members and over 1,200 public bodies in UK.