Kirklees Council offers training and drop-in sessions to support digital inclusion as part of Get Online Week

Kirklees Council are supporting Get Online Week from 18-24 October by providing training and drop-in sessions to help residents engage with technology.

Get Online Week is a digital inclusion campaign organised by the Good Things Foundation.  The campaign is to support those who are digitally excluded – people who don’t have the access or knowledge to benefit from the internet and digital technologies.

A lack of digital skills is well documented as having significant negative impacts, from poorer health outcomes to increased loneliness and social isolation.  The last two years have further highlighted the impact digital skills can have on an individual’s wellbeing and safety.

Throughout Get Online Week, Kirklees Council will be highlighting some of the support available to anyone wishing to become more digitally included, or support and friend or family member to engage with technology.

Digital Cafés will be run across Kirklees, at which residents can learn some basic digital skills on their own devices or develop their skills further, ask questions about technology and the internet, and try out using a tablet if they don’t have any digital devices at home.  The Digital Cafés will take place at local learning centres, community centres and libraries.

The council is also encouraging residents who are comfortable using technology to enlist in Digital Champions training.  This training is free to anyone who lives or works in Kirklees, and will help people inspire and develop others’ digital skills.  Residents can register for Digital Champion training online as a ‘Digital Skills’ lifelong learning course.

Councillor Peter McBride, Cabinet Member for Skills and Adult Learning, says:

“Digital exclusion can have a huge negative impact on our residents lives, and never has that been clearer than over the last few years.

“From doctor’s appointments to staying in touch with friends and family, these are now crucial skills which massively influence people’s health and wellbeing on a daily basis.

“We want to help people who don’t have access to technology and the internet, or the skills to benefit from it.  Everyone deserves the ability to safely and confidently engage in the digital world, and the support is available.”