The Careers Adviser: 'Where can I find out about voluntary work? How do I get into furniture restoration?'

Forward planning

My daughter is thinking about taking a gap year instead of going to university and wants to do voluntary work. Is there anywhere we can get good advice about which schemes offer a good experience both for her and the people she might be working with?

It's sensible to ask – Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) has publicly warned that while there are good trip providers out there, there are also badly planned schemes that benefit no one but the companies that organise them. There are some key websites which will help you and your daughter sort this out.

Try www.gapadvice.org which offers varying levels of paid advice, depending on whether you want to ask an email question or talk on the phone. It has a special section for families which gives advice on helping out (whilst not dominating proceedings) before, during and after travel. It can, for a fee, offer on-call advice during the gap period itself, and it is in partnership with Keeping You Posted (www.keepingyouposted.org) an interactive online journal, which means your daughter can keep in touch by uploading pictures, audio or video to the site.

Also look up www.ethicalvolunteering.org, which advises on finding eco or ethical projects, and lists questions to ask – can the travel organisation provide a full job description? Does it work with a local partner organisation? How will your daughter's money be spent? Does it have policies on eco and ethical tourism? What support and training will your daughter get?

Another site, www.ethicalvolunteering.org, offers essential gap year advice and links through to the Foreign Office travel advisory service. It also gives the phone number to call if you are moving from one country to another and need to check if it is safe to travel. For gap year opportunities, visit www.gapyear.com or www.yearoutgroup.org.

Money matters

I would really like to try my hand at restoring antique furniture – I would even like to consider turning it into a small business. How can I find out if the skills I have can be developed and start to work out if making money out of this is possible?

A three-day taster course run by the City and Guilds Institute's Time to Learn scheme would probably be your best bet. That way you can assess your skills and talk to trainers and others about business opportunities. The courses are listed on www.timetolearn.org.uk and include three-day beginners' courses, for around £200. Longer courses, which can be taken full or part time over one or two years, can be found on www.cityandguilds.com.

Most people try and find work with an established upholsterer before starting their own business, to pick up some of the skills of the trade. It's not impossible to start up on your own, but don't expect huge earnings as the work can be slow and painstaking. You would also need to work out if you have the finance and personal skills to make the business work. The Furniture, Furnishing and Interiors National Training Organisation ( www.ffinto.org) lists training providers and job offers on its website.

Send your queries to Caroline Haydon at 'The Independent', Education Desk, Independent House, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS; or fax 020-7005 2143; or e-mail to chaydon@blueyonder.co.uk