Training Directory: Gloucestershire training providers

Free training directory for VCSE organisations in Gloucestershire.

We've created this directory for local organisations wanting to explore learning & development opportunities available to their team. If you'd like to add your training to this page, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Charities, community groups & social enterprises

We offer a range of free training & events for VCSE organisations in Gloucestershire. This includes: a training & events programme, online trustee training and online social media training. Please sign up to our News Bulletin to keep updated about new opportunities as they are published.
Our Go Volunteer Glos team deliver a range of free webinars and training courses to help organisations find, manage and support their volunteers. We share these on our training & events page and in our News Bulletin.

Domestic abuse

Domestic Abuse Routine Enquiry (DARE) toolkit training aims to provide a wide range of multi-agency professionals with the tools they need to identify, explore and engage domestic abuse perpetrators so they can be successfully referred on to specialist local services. The DARE toolkit training is CPD accredited and consists of three online compulsory half-day workshops over a three-week period.
GDASS training. As well as supporting victims of all type of domestic abuse in Gloucestershire, GDASS also offers training to organisations and groups across the county. GDASS has a rolling programme of online training on topics such as How to Complete A DASH Form and Recognising and Responding to Domestic Abuse. The team also deliver tailored online or in person training programmes for individual organisations. All GDASS training is free of charge. For details of future online training, please visit their Eventbrite page, and for more information about our tailored training offer, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDIB) training

Gloucestershire Deaf Association (GDA) offers bespoke 'Understanding Deafness' training for businesses, individuals and groups. The training aims to help individuals to understand deafness better and includes. GDA offers a full day and half day option which are chargeable. More information about the training and their current fees is available via GDA's flyer.
Inclusion Gloucestershire offers a wide range of inclusivity and awareness training available (fees correct as of June 2024), including:
- Disability Awareness Training – a 3 hour online or face to face training course for up to 12 people delivered by our Experts with lived experience and a Facilitating Trainer - £590
- Co-Production Training – a 3 hour online or face to face training course for up to 12 people delivered by our Experts with lived experience and a Facilitating Trainer - £590
- Easy Read Training - a 3 hour online or face to face training course for up to 12 people delivered by our Experts with lived experience and a Facilitating Trainer - £590
- Inclusive Communication & Practice Training - a 3 hour online or face to face training course for up to 12 people delivered by our Experts with lived experience and a Facilitating Trainer - £590
LearnPro is an eLearning platform available to all Gloucestershire VCSE organisations, and there is no fee. Training includes a range of key subjects such as Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion training. If you would like to access the platform email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., to get your organisation registered and create an administrator on the account (so they can record training completed by team members for their CPD and HR files).

First aid

St John Ambulance provides online and in-person First Aid courses. You can find out more information on their website.

Funding and fundraising

The Benefact Group has a range of free to view fundraising webinars. You can find out more on their website.
Charity Excellence offers a range of free funding workshops.

Suicide prevention

Gloucestershire Suicide Prevention Partnership Free wellbeing training. The partnership organise a range of courses throughout the year. These courses are free for individuals working/volunteering in public & VCSE organisations in Gloucestershire who come across members of the public.
Sunflowers Suicide Support offers the below courses (prices correct as of January 2024):
- ASIST - A two day training course for up to 26 people. This course is delivered in person and is £3,100.
- safeTALK - A 4 hour training course for up to 30 people. This course is delivered in person and is £1,400
- Suicide First Aid - A one day training course for up to 16 people. This course is delivered online and is £1,700.
- Suicide First Aid Lite - A 3 hour training course for up to 20 people. This course is delivered online and is £1,200.

Miscellaneous

Gloucestershire College has a range of free accredited online training courses in topics such as business, health & social care and equality & diversity.
Gloucestershire County Council Free Carer Aware E-learning. This course covers: Who is an unpaid carer; Carer rights; and Local support. Once you click through to the website you will need to create an account to register with the online portal.
Glos Families Directory offers a range of Parent Workshops and Practitioner Training.
Gloucestershire Primary Care Training Hub has a range of free and chargeable social care related CPD training.
Horses for Wellbeing aims to harness the transformative power of horses for emotional and mental wellbeing. Through ground-based activities, utilising the connection between horses and humans, Horses for Wellbeing seeks to cultivate personal growth, resilience, self-esteem, and emotional regulation. The focus is on creating lasting positive changes on the lives of the young people they work with. Horses for Wellbeing provides therapeutic experiences and specialised tailored programmes to meet the unique needs of the target demographic and address challenges such as low self-esteem, separation anxiety and ADHD. You can find out more about their Equine Facilitated Learning on Horses for Wellbeing's website.
NHS England Free Telephone Triage Training Programme (Cancer) . Colleagues from VCSE organisations that work with oncology and haematology patients can now access free online training to help utilise the UK Oncology Nurses Society (UKONS) triage tool in everyday practice. This training may be useful for anyone in your team that undertakes telephone assessment of cancer patients (including service managers and practice educators).
Rathbones Charity Investment Training Hub. Rathbones has a range of free to view webinars covering trustees’ management duties, income-only vs total return on investment approaches, equities selection and more.
Stroud & South Gloucestershire College offers a range of online training courses and accredited qualifications. This includes some recently launched free mental health & wellbeing qualifications.
The Red Horse Foundation is offering 10-week courses which include a mixture of theory and experimental practice with their herd. The course fee is £1,250 and courses start on 27 April 2025. You can find out more about their Fundamentals of Equine Facilitated Therapy (EFT): Skills and Practice Training for Mental Health professionals and any fee/date changes on the The Red Horse Foundation's website.
Young Gloucestershire offers a Level 4 Youth Work qualification. This course is for youth workers and those in multi-agency roles, including social workers, teachers, police officers, and other professionals engaging with young people. Through this programme, you’ll develop vital expertise in leadership, mental health, and professional practice, all while working alongside YG’s experienced team in a flexible, supportive environment. The qualification focuses on the importance of professional development at Level 4 and forging effective working relationships when working with young people. The total cost for this qualification is £900 (with the option to pay in 3 instalments of £300). Includes certification, and qualification assessment.
Warm & Well Free Introduction to Energy Use in the Home & Fuel Poverty Awareness Training - This training is for Gloucestershire based organisations/services and is for front line staff, volunteers, community workers, councillors, etc. who support communities/households that may be at risk of fuel poverty. The training is fully certified by the CPD Certification Service and runs on various dates throughout the year.

National training providers

Charity Finance Group offers a range of training covering topics such as Gift Aid, finance for trustees and investment training.
Dunhill Medical Trust, Moore Kingston Smith Non-Profit Advisory and the University of Birmingham’s School of Social Policy is offering free Capability Development Training for community-facing organisations. More information is available by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
UK Gov Free Qualifications. A range of funded Level 2 qualifications such as Equality & Diversity, Marketing and Health & Social Care are advertised on the following website.
The Kings Fund offers a free 'NHS Explained' online course - this course will enable you to gain in-depth understanding of how the NHS works and explore current and future challenges.
The Health and Safety Executive provides training courses on a range of topics. They also have a work-related stress online learning tool which may be useful for your organisation.
NCVO offers a range of courses for VCSE organisations that covers a vast number of sector-specific topics.
The Public Sector Executive, in partnership with Crown Commercial Service, has an on demand webinar ready to stream on their website entitled: ‘Sustainability and Carbon Net Zero – good for the economy as well as the environment
The Open University has an online platform with hundreds of training courses, including those specifically for VCSE sector groups/organisations. You can find out more on the Open Learn website.
Recovery 4 All provides training on working with addiction. You can find out more by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The South West Cyber Resilience Centre offers training on Cyber Security.
Free Ofcom Webinars and Videos - These webinars and videos are available to view on Ofcom's YouTube Channel and include: Introduction to the Online Safety Act and the illegal harms consultation; Does the Online Safety Act apply to your business?; and Demystifying the Online Safety Risk Assessments.
Free Staying Safe Online: Top Tips for Staff Training. The National Cyber Security Centre has a free online training session explaining why cyber security is important. It also covers three key areas: defending yourself against phishing; using strong passwords; and securing your devices. More information is available on the NCSC website.

Please note

This webpage contains a list of resources and is not an endorsement of any of the above training providers. Please ensure that you conduct the necessary research and due diligence to ensure that any training you attend/commission is appropriate for your organisation.
We only advertise training courses that are relevant to VCSE organisations in Gloucestershire on this webpage.
We will prioritise learning & development opportunities provided by VCSE organisations and our partners and make decisions about the content contained on this webpage on a 'case by case' basis.
To ensure that the information contained on this webpage is as succinct as possible, we aim to include recurring/long-term training opportunities. For 'one off' events/training courses relevant to VCSE sector groups & organisations in Gloucestershire, please contact us - we may be able to include an article in our News Bulletin for you.