About SkilledUp Life
Free Talent Marketplace dedicated to helping tech startups survive and grow.
SkilledUp Life
Volunteer Handbook
V1 - Elise Singleton (2021)
V2 - Manoj Ranaweera (2022)
V3 - Manoj Ranaweera (2024)
The purpose of this Volunteer Handbook is to guide you
through your onboarding process and explain everything
you need to know about SkilledUp Life and your Volunteer
Term with us.
You will find in this document useful information you need to
know before commencing your Volunteer Term such as:
Description of the SkilledUp Life Team and structure.
Website and the tools we use.
Our commitments to you.
Company values, vision and goals.
Company history.
Your performance expectations.
Termination conditions.
Confidentiality agreement.
We appreciate your forthcoming dedication and the trust
you are placing in SkilledUp Life.
We look forward to building a professional yet enjoyable
relationship with you during the Volunteer Term.
Welcome to SkilledUp Life.
Manoj Ranaweera,
Founder & CEO
We warmly welcome you to SkilledUp Life.
We want your 3 months Volunteer Term with us to be
enjoyable and fulfilling.
We have created a friendly environment where no team
member is above another. We are all equal.
You are free to speak your mind and suggest
improvements and come up with new ideas to improve
everything associated with SkilledUp Life, i.e. the Product,
Service and our own Organisation.
We will endure to meet your expectations and help you
to gain the real Experience and Skills you are looking for.
In return, we look forward to seeing what you can
personally and professionally bring to our Organisation.
We thank you for the contribution you will make in
helping SkilledUp Life survive and grow.
1.Welcome to SkilledUp Life
pn
2.Introducing
SkilledUp Life
SkilledUp Life brings Volunteers and
Tech Startups together.
We help in setting up, growing and scaling early
stage Tech Startups by providing unlimited free
talent.
We facilitate anyone over 18 years old to gain real
Experience and Skills to improve their career
prospects by offering 3 months (minimum 60
Volunteer Days) long volunteer Term through Tech
Startups.
SkilledUp Life is a life-companion product where you
can dip in and out every time you need to upskill or
put newly acquired knowledge into practice.
SkilledUp Life was founded on 1st Aug 2020 by
Manoj Ranaweera in Manchester, UK.
The Idea of SkilledUp Life came from Furloughed
Life, which he ran from 1st April 2020 to 30th July
2020.
SkilledUp Life team consists of employees, our
Founder and a team of Volunteers including you.
The goals of SkilledUp Life are twofold:
Help develop talent by providing them with
Experience and Skills to land their next job or
go freelance.
Help tech founders setup and grow tech
startups without having to chase investors in
the early stages.
3.Our History
Trust
SkilledUp Life Ltd is a registered company in England and Wales (the UK). Our team
members come from many countries around the world. We work in multiple time
zones and independently with minimum supervision. Each team member is trusted to
execute assigned tasks to a high quality and performance. It's very important to us
that all team members learn to trust others and be trusted. Directors, employees and
volunteers are all treated the same, with respect.
Collaboration
It's important to operate as a high-performing team. Even if we're thousands of
kilometers apart, it's vital to work as a team to communicate, to share knowledge and
experiences. Collaborating with other team members is essential, as together we are
stronger and are able to reach and exceed our goals. Get people to trust you and
collaborate with you and you will make a big difference for the SkilledUp Life.
Global from Day 1
From the start, SkilledUp Life has functioned as a global organisation. SkilledUp Life
offers unparallel opportunities to gain experience by anyone from anywhere in the
world. We do not look at your social, religious or cultural background. It goes without
saying we do not discriminate who we take on based on their colour, race, where they
come from, religion or beliefs. All that matters to us is that you are motivated and
ready to push boundaries in succeeding, looking to gain professional experience and
ready to develop your skills further.
We had teammates in the past from Brazil to Australia including Europe, Africa and
Asia. Our teammates from many different nationalities have shown that they can all
work as a team and move SkilledUp Life to the next level.
4.Our
Values
The values we believe in
which makes SkilledUp
Life extraordinary.
pn
Honesty
We do not tolerate stretching the
truth at SkilledUp Life.
5. Team Structure
HR Team is responsible for recruitment, onboarding and training, performance monitoring and corrective action, and
offboarding and issue of testimonials and certificates.
HR Team
Product Team is responsible for building the product rapidly iterating it and ensuring its availability worldwide
.
Product Team
Support Team is responsible for keeping the community healthy and resolving any issues.
Support Team
Marketing team is responsible for building brand awareness and acquiring volunteers, customers and partners through
content marketing and events.
Marketing Team
Business development team is responsible for sales, i.e. customer acquisition.
Business Development Team
Buck stops with Manoj
Manoj - CEO
6. Conditions,
expectations and
benefits
By signing the Volunteer Agreement, you agreed to a 3
month Volunteer Term with no financial compensation
in return or any benefits in kind. You have joined
SkilledUp Life to gain experience and skills in your
chosen field. You will develop new skills as well as
improve existing skills whilst helping SkilledUp Life
advance and grow.
We expect you to honour the number of hours per day
you committed from Monday to Friday volunteering with
SkilledUp Life. You are required to submit progress
updates daily with weekly summaries. You are also
expected to be a team player but also work
autonomously and lead initiatives when presented with.
This is the best way you are going to learn and improve
your skills.
We are giving you an opportunity for you to shine - take
control of this opportunity to push yourself forward.
There is no limit to what you can achieve.
Performance expectations
Working as a Volunteer has many benefits but here are the main
benefits you will get from your term at SkilledUp Life:
Gain professional experience to add to your LinkedIn profile
and CV, which helps to take a step closer to finding your
dream job or go freelance.
As a Volunteer you have the freedom to advance at your
pace, choose what tasks need to be done and where you
want to specialise in, which a typical job may not provide.
SkilledUp Life commits to providing you with a Letter of
Recommendation and a
Linkedin
Testimonial after
satisfactory completion of your Term.
Benefits
The Volunteer Agreement stipulates conditions on which the
Volunteer Term would be terminated by either party. Termination
of the Agreement prematurely will result in you not receiving the
Letter of Recommendation and Testimonials from us.
Lack of progress updates will be treated as an early
abandonment by you and will lead to termination. You are
expected to uphold a high level of professionalism during your
Term with us, i.e. turn up to meetings, deliver outcomes on
agreed dates, etc. Failure to do so may result in termination.
Termination conditions
7. Important Information
As per the Volunteer Agreement signed, this is not an
employment contract, freelancing agreement or an
internship. You must not use the word "internship" when
referring to your Volunteer Term with SkilledUp Life.
This is not an Internship,
Freelancing, Contracting or an
Employment
Your Volunteer Term is limited to 3 months duration but
can be extended further if both parties are willing to
extend.
3 months Volunteer Term
This volunteering opportunity is not a paid opportunity.
You will not receive any financial compensation for the
volunteering you will provide to SkilledUp Life nor will you
receive any benefits in kind, e.g. Amazon vouchers, etc.
We have also not made any promises of future paid
work upon completion of the Volunteer Term.
No financial compensation, no
benefit in kind and no promises of
paid work
All IP created will be owned by the company and you will have
no rights to it. When you signed the Volunteer Agreement, you
forgo your rights. Do reach out if you need any clarification.
Intellectual Property (IP)
You must adhere to confidentially requirements as detailed in
the Volunteer Agreement at all times.
Confidentiality
You are welcome to add us to Linkedin under Experiences as
soon as you start the Volunteer Term. Period shown there must
reflect your start and end dates.
Linkedin
If you are unable to volunteer for any reason, you must notify HR
and CEO in advance. If you cannot volunteer for longer than one
day consecutively, provided agreement is reached with HR, you
could recover the time lost by extending the Volunteer Term to
accommodate the lost time. Failure to notify will result in
termination.
Unavailability due to illness, etc
Google Workspace
You will be assigned a Google Workspace email account. You must not use your personal email for
SkilledUp Life matters. Use Google Docs, Sheets and Slides as you see fit. You are prohibited from using
Microsoft and other software without written approval by our CEO.
Trello
We use Trello extensively to manage tasks, especially for
sourcing volunteer team members.
Skilledup Life
HR recruitment team members will be given access to the
SkilledUp Life Dashboard.
8. Tools we use
Slack
All team collaborations take place on Slack. Each team
has a dedicated channel. Daily updates should be
submitted on Slack daily update channel.
Zoom
For team meetings and meetings with Volunteers and
Customers.
edocr
Volunteer Handbook, Role descriptions,
strategies and documents.
CEO & Founder of SkilledUp Life
Manoj Ranaweera
manoj.ranaweera@skilledup.life
Contact
skilledup.life/about
skilleduplifeteam.slack.com
Any team member can be accessed through Slack.
Team members
Volunteer Handbook
V1 - Elise Singleton (2021)
V2 - Manoj Ranaweera (2022)
V3 - Manoj Ranaweera (2024)
The purpose of this Volunteer Handbook is to guide you
through your onboarding process and explain everything
you need to know about SkilledUp Life and your Volunteer
Term with us.
You will find in this document useful information you need to
know before commencing your Volunteer Term such as:
Description of the SkilledUp Life Team and structure.
Website and the tools we use.
Our commitments to you.
Company values, vision and goals.
Company history.
Your performance expectations.
Termination conditions.
Confidentiality agreement.
We appreciate your forthcoming dedication and the trust
you are placing in SkilledUp Life.
We look forward to building a professional yet enjoyable
relationship with you during the Volunteer Term.
Welcome to SkilledUp Life.
Manoj Ranaweera,
Founder & CEO
We warmly welcome you to SkilledUp Life.
We want your 3 months Volunteer Term with us to be
enjoyable and fulfilling.
We have created a friendly environment where no team
member is above another. We are all equal.
You are free to speak your mind and suggest
improvements and come up with new ideas to improve
everything associated with SkilledUp Life, i.e. the Product,
Service and our own Organisation.
We will endure to meet your expectations and help you
to gain the real Experience and Skills you are looking for.
In return, we look forward to seeing what you can
personally and professionally bring to our Organisation.
We thank you for the contribution you will make in
helping SkilledUp Life survive and grow.
1.Welcome to SkilledUp Life
pn
2.Introducing
SkilledUp Life
SkilledUp Life brings Volunteers and
Tech Startups together.
We help in setting up, growing and scaling early
stage Tech Startups by providing unlimited free
talent.
We facilitate anyone over 18 years old to gain real
Experience and Skills to improve their career
prospects by offering 3 months (minimum 60
Volunteer Days) long volunteer Term through Tech
Startups.
SkilledUp Life is a life-companion product where you
can dip in and out every time you need to upskill or
put newly acquired knowledge into practice.
SkilledUp Life was founded on 1st Aug 2020 by
Manoj Ranaweera in Manchester, UK.
The Idea of SkilledUp Life came from Furloughed
Life, which he ran from 1st April 2020 to 30th July
2020.
SkilledUp Life team consists of employees, our
Founder and a team of Volunteers including you.
The goals of SkilledUp Life are twofold:
Help develop talent by providing them with
Experience and Skills to land their next job or
go freelance.
Help tech founders setup and grow tech
startups without having to chase investors in
the early stages.
3.Our History
Trust
SkilledUp Life Ltd is a registered company in England and Wales (the UK). Our team
members come from many countries around the world. We work in multiple time
zones and independently with minimum supervision. Each team member is trusted to
execute assigned tasks to a high quality and performance. It's very important to us
that all team members learn to trust others and be trusted. Directors, employees and
volunteers are all treated the same, with respect.
Collaboration
It's important to operate as a high-performing team. Even if we're thousands of
kilometers apart, it's vital to work as a team to communicate, to share knowledge and
experiences. Collaborating with other team members is essential, as together we are
stronger and are able to reach and exceed our goals. Get people to trust you and
collaborate with you and you will make a big difference for the SkilledUp Life.
Global from Day 1
From the start, SkilledUp Life has functioned as a global organisation. SkilledUp Life
offers unparallel opportunities to gain experience by anyone from anywhere in the
world. We do not look at your social, religious or cultural background. It goes without
saying we do not discriminate who we take on based on their colour, race, where they
come from, religion or beliefs. All that matters to us is that you are motivated and
ready to push boundaries in succeeding, looking to gain professional experience and
ready to develop your skills further.
We had teammates in the past from Brazil to Australia including Europe, Africa and
Asia. Our teammates from many different nationalities have shown that they can all
work as a team and move SkilledUp Life to the next level.
4.Our
Values
The values we believe in
which makes SkilledUp
Life extraordinary.
pn
Honesty
We do not tolerate stretching the
truth at SkilledUp Life.
5. Team Structure
HR Team is responsible for recruitment, onboarding and training, performance monitoring and corrective action, and
offboarding and issue of testimonials and certificates.
HR Team
Product Team is responsible for building the product rapidly iterating it and ensuring its availability worldwide
.
Product Team
Support Team is responsible for keeping the community healthy and resolving any issues.
Support Team
Marketing team is responsible for building brand awareness and acquiring volunteers, customers and partners through
content marketing and events.
Marketing Team
Business development team is responsible for sales, i.e. customer acquisition.
Business Development Team
Buck stops with Manoj
Manoj - CEO
6. Conditions,
expectations and
benefits
By signing the Volunteer Agreement, you agreed to a 3
month Volunteer Term with no financial compensation
in return or any benefits in kind. You have joined
SkilledUp Life to gain experience and skills in your
chosen field. You will develop new skills as well as
improve existing skills whilst helping SkilledUp Life
advance and grow.
We expect you to honour the number of hours per day
you committed from Monday to Friday volunteering with
SkilledUp Life. You are required to submit progress
updates daily with weekly summaries. You are also
expected to be a team player but also work
autonomously and lead initiatives when presented with.
This is the best way you are going to learn and improve
your skills.
We are giving you an opportunity for you to shine - take
control of this opportunity to push yourself forward.
There is no limit to what you can achieve.
Performance expectations
Working as a Volunteer has many benefits but here are the main
benefits you will get from your term at SkilledUp Life:
Gain professional experience to add to your LinkedIn profile
and CV, which helps to take a step closer to finding your
dream job or go freelance.
As a Volunteer you have the freedom to advance at your
pace, choose what tasks need to be done and where you
want to specialise in, which a typical job may not provide.
SkilledUp Life commits to providing you with a Letter of
Recommendation and a
Testimonial after
satisfactory completion of your Term.
Benefits
The Volunteer Agreement stipulates conditions on which the
Volunteer Term would be terminated by either party. Termination
of the Agreement prematurely will result in you not receiving the
Letter of Recommendation and Testimonials from us.
Lack of progress updates will be treated as an early
abandonment by you and will lead to termination. You are
expected to uphold a high level of professionalism during your
Term with us, i.e. turn up to meetings, deliver outcomes on
agreed dates, etc. Failure to do so may result in termination.
Termination conditions
7. Important Information
As per the Volunteer Agreement signed, this is not an
employment contract, freelancing agreement or an
internship. You must not use the word "internship" when
referring to your Volunteer Term with SkilledUp Life.
This is not an Internship,
Freelancing, Contracting or an
Employment
Your Volunteer Term is limited to 3 months duration but
can be extended further if both parties are willing to
extend.
3 months Volunteer Term
This volunteering opportunity is not a paid opportunity.
You will not receive any financial compensation for the
volunteering you will provide to SkilledUp Life nor will you
receive any benefits in kind, e.g. Amazon vouchers, etc.
We have also not made any promises of future paid
work upon completion of the Volunteer Term.
No financial compensation, no
benefit in kind and no promises of
paid work
All IP created will be owned by the company and you will have
no rights to it. When you signed the Volunteer Agreement, you
forgo your rights. Do reach out if you need any clarification.
Intellectual Property (IP)
You must adhere to confidentially requirements as detailed in
the Volunteer Agreement at all times.
Confidentiality
You are welcome to add us to Linkedin under Experiences as
soon as you start the Volunteer Term. Period shown there must
reflect your start and end dates.
If you are unable to volunteer for any reason, you must notify HR
and CEO in advance. If you cannot volunteer for longer than one
day consecutively, provided agreement is reached with HR, you
could recover the time lost by extending the Volunteer Term to
accommodate the lost time. Failure to notify will result in
termination.
Unavailability due to illness, etc
Google Workspace
You will be assigned a Google Workspace email account. You must not use your personal email for
SkilledUp Life matters. Use Google Docs, Sheets and Slides as you see fit. You are prohibited from using
Microsoft and other software without written approval by our CEO.
Trello
We use Trello extensively to manage tasks, especially for
sourcing volunteer team members.
Skilledup Life
HR recruitment team members will be given access to the
SkilledUp Life Dashboard.
8. Tools we use
Slack
All team collaborations take place on Slack. Each team
has a dedicated channel. Daily updates should be
submitted on Slack daily update channel.
Zoom
For team meetings and meetings with Volunteers and
Customers.
edocr
Volunteer Handbook, Role descriptions,
strategies and documents.
CEO & Founder of SkilledUp Life
Manoj Ranaweera
manoj.ranaweera@skilledup.life
Contact
skilledup.life/about
skilleduplifeteam.slack.com
Any team member can be accessed through Slack.
Team members