YOU want a paid job, so what's the point in volunteering?

Well, there's a lot more to voluntary work than the "feel-good" factor - it can be a way of gaining skills to help you find employment, or launch your career.

Thousands of opportunities are registered on websites with your local Volunteers' Bureaux.

It's not just the social care, environment and charity sectors that offer opportunities either. Volunteers undertake all kinds of work including peacekeeping roles for the police, working in the sports and arts sectors and overseas.

For example, the role of special constable in the police force is a voluntary position that can help some volunteers gain a place at police training college.

Voluntary work overseas and in the UK social sector can also equip volunteers with "soft" skills that blue-chip companies look for in applicants.

Sarah Green, spokeswoman for Community Service Volunteers (CSV), which matches people with UK-based voluntary posts, said: "A volunteer working as a care leader for a youth community group for a year could learn about communications skills, line management, teamwork and using their initiative.

"As new volunteers join the group throughout the year, each will be the longest-serving volunteer at some point, and they will lead and teach new recruits.

"Volunteers are placed away from their home town and found accommodation, which is paid for, and given a weekly allowance."

You can also ask businesses about short-term, unpaid work experience in your chosen career. One international financial institution provides a small number of volunteers, usually students, with two to four weeks' relevant work experience in its London offices. For example, a student who wanted a job in information technology (IT) shadowed staff on the IT Helpdesk.

Part-time volunteering can be useful to people who have a job but want to change career. CSV's part-time voluntary posts include "mentoring" - for instance, seeing a local teenager who is in the care system for a couple of hours every fortnight - and even online mentoring. Other voluntary work can include joining a one-off weekend project, painting a community building or restoring a nature area.

Although qualifications are still very important, voluntary work can be a way to gain experience and get a foot in the door.

For more information, log on to www.CSV.org.uk or call 0800 374 991.

You can also contact Do-IT at www.do-it.org.uk or Timebank at www.timebank.org.uk or 0845 601 4008.

Find out more about volunteering abroad by contacting the Voluntary Service Overseas by visiting www.vso.org.uk