Kazan 2015 volunteer application process comes to a close

Volunteer selection events are currently in full swing. Starting November 20, 2014, candidates whose applications were accepted have been undergoing face-to-face interviews at their local volunteer recruitment centres. Up to 5,000 people across Russia have already met with recruiters and taken their questions aimed at determining candidates' motivation, assessing their experience, estimating how developed their key volunteer skills are, and checking their English language proficiency and knowledge of a foreign language other than English. Apart from that, recruiters tell candidates about a wide range of volunteering opportunities and help them choose the position that suits them best. The final decision on a candidate's suitability to this or that volunteer role is taken after the results of an interview are considered and a recruiter's recommendations are reviewed. International candidates will be interviewed over Skype or via phone. 

Two months of intensive recruitment lie ahead but there is already enough data to generate a composite image of an average Kazan 2015 volunteer: it is a first-, second-year student with good English speaking skills. The number of female applicants is four times as much as that of male applicants. Among the most wanted volunteer positions are Event Services Volunteer, Sports Team Attaché, Volunteer Entertainer, Sports Event Management Volunteer. Interestingly, most candidates who applied to volunteer are newbies who were were inspired to take up volunteering after a successful staging of the 2013 Summer Universiade. This proves the fact that Russian youth’s interest in sports and event volunteering continues to grow. 

As we reported earlier, the volunteer selection, recruitment and training programme for the 16th FINA World Championships kicked off in March 2014. The first stage featured the implementation of the Learn Everything About FINA 2015 awareness-raising project between March and Dercember, 2014. The audience covered by the project in Russia reached more than 75,000 people. The next stage of the programme included the application process that was launched on the sidelines of the Volunteers' Academy All-Russian Training Camp. More than that, together with the Education Department of the Executive Committee of the Municipal Entity of the city of Kazan, the Executive Directorate for Sports Projects embarked on the city volunteer training programme: there have already been formed teams of scholchildren who will work as city volunteers at special booths scattered throughout the city and located in close proximity to Championships venues and major tourist routes. As soon as the selection process concludes, volunteer training will begin. After that Kazan 2015 volunteers will be provided with accreditation badges, uniforms and be fully ready to take on their duties at the FINA World Championships and Masters tournament.