Language skills are an important factor in the work, though we do not expect volunteers to know Croatian, Serbian, or Albanian before arrival in the field. While language studies before joining the teams will be a benefit, volunteers will receive language training during their first month in the field, and are expected to study further on their own. Volunteers should be available for one year or more Volunteers are encouraged to build up a support group for personal and financial support. The International Office can provide suggestions and resource materials for developing this support group. Before their placement in a team, all volunteers are expected to participate in a training which BPT will arrange.
Field work can be rigorous and tense at times.
Volunteers are expected to be mature, communicative, and to have past experience in demanding situations. Communication skills, the ability to express oneself clearly and to understand others, are an integral part of the work and the team life, and are a must in the field. Additionally, the mandate of Balkan Peace Team allows for a wide variety of tasks. Therefore, volunteers should be creative and should be able to take initiative in order to be effective in the field. Additionally the ability of the person to keep a non-partisan position is an important criteria which will be assessed in the interview and during the assessment.