VOLA stands for Voluntary Organisation Learning Association and it is Greater Merseyside’s new voluntary, community and faith (VCF) sector Learning Consortium. VOLA exists to provide a formal structure for supporting Greater Merseyside’s VCF sector in the area of learning and skills provision and associated information, advice and guidance (IAG) services, both for existing providers of learning/training and also, for organisations who wish to provide future learning opportunities to their client groups.

Blackburne House acts as accountable body and works in partnership with three other founding partners to manage the consortium’s development - Merseyside Network for Europe (MNE), Sefton CVS and Workers’ Educational Association (WEA). The VOLA management team, employed by Sefton CVS, provides an administrative hub for the work of the consortium with MNE providing the communications interface with members and the wider sector.