Supporting participants to gain digital skills
By Joanne McKechnie, Team Leader
Our Connecting Choices project in Stoke-on-Trent works with participants furthest from the job market, instilling confidence, skills and experience to enable them to take their first steps (back) into training, education, volunteering and work.
One of our aims with our particpants is to improve their digital skills, and more importantly for them to become confident in using their digital skills for work experience, training or volunteering. We were donated nine tablets, and it has been a great honour to work with our partners to deliver these and see how lives are impacted.
We have had to adjust our delivery of digital skills for participants due to the pandemic, usually Ixion would hold classroom sessions so this is a great way for participants to gain practice in preparation for their progression.
The tablets were kindly donated by DevicesDotNow, accessed through The Good Things Foundation (find out more below). All nine tablets have now been distributed to participants like Michelle, read what she has to say below.
Participant impact
One of our first recipients of the i-pads was participant Michelle Ashmore. Delivered by her work coach Jacqui Higginson from the YMCA in North Staffordshire, Michelle says:
“Having this will enable me to become familiar with using an i-pad and touch-screen technology. I have been using my phone and struggling with the size of the text and using the i-pad will really help me as I am currently waiting to hear about a volunteer position in a school and am looking at the curriculum in preparation for this. Thank you so much.“
"1.9 million households in the UK don’t have access to the internet, meaning many vulnerable people are now cut off from the outside world."
Source: The Good Things Foundation
About DevicesDotNow and The Good Things Foundation
Our nine tablets were donated by DevicesDotNow, accessed through the The Good Things Foundation who who are a social change charity, helping people to improve their lives through digital.
DevicesDotNow is a new initiative from FutureDotNow, targeting the 1.9 million households who don’t have access to the internet and are digitally excluded as we face a socially distanced world gripped by COVID-19.
You can support the initiative by donating laptops, phones, or phones, SIM cards or by making a donation.
Find out more about our Connecting Choices project that covers Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Moorlands and Newcastle-Under-Lyme.