If you have no previous governance experience, get involved in your local community. Community involvement can provide a pathway into governance. You can get involved through your (or your children’s) sports or hobbies. You may have an interest in the environment and conservation, or maybe you want to help fundraise for a local community asset such as a community hall. There are many not-for-profit and community boards which cover all sectors of society including different sports, conservation, environment, heritage, health, youth, humanitarian and more.
Local community boards and committees work in a similar way to larger boards – but are generally not-for-profit with a lot less financial responsibility and tend to cross over into operational/hands-on work. As a member of such a board, you may also perform voluntary duties that in bigger organisations would be undertaken by paid staff.
Once you have started gaining governance experience, you can seek more formal training.