Good Things Foundation - Opportunity for voluntary and community groups supporting clients with digital skills

Are you a local voluntary or community group with an interest in supporting clients with digital skills?

Good Things Foundation, a social change charity, helping people to improve their lives through digital, was successful in securing funds from the Community Renewal Fund (CRF) for delivery across the region. They are now seeking additional Dudley based partners to support the aspirations.

Voluntary and community groups are invited to join a short zoom meeting on 24th January at 2pm with colleagues from Good Things Foundation to explore whether you would like to participate and take advantage of this opportunity. Funds and equipment are potentially available from this. If you are interested to attend this meeting please contact Andy Gray at andygray@dudleycvs.org.uk

Background

The UK Community Renewal Fund aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK, creating opportunities to trial new approaches and innovative ideas at the local level. This includes helping to equip people with the skills they need to seize new opportunities and ensure their local communities are prosperous and productive.

The Fund recognises that each area has its unique challenges requiring unique solutions. So each project will empower places to explore how best to tackle local challenges.

In our area Good Things Foundation will be delivering – Digital Future – West Midlands

The Projects

Each project will seek to develop, and evaluate, a community digital skills and support pathway that engages people who are socially and economically excluded and for whom Essential Digital Skills (EDS) is the primary barrier to progression, to help them:

Gain Essential Digital Skills
Progress to further learning, including publicly-funded EDS training
Increase their employability
Overall – bridge the gap between informal, community-based digital skills provision and formal, publicly-funded EDS training

At a wider level, the programme will also strengthen relationships between providers of formal EDS provision and trusted community organisations, in collaboration with the Combined Authority.

We know there’s an acute need for Essential Digital Skills as part of the post-Covid recovery, recognising the continuing digital skills gap that affects those also facing social exclusion. Without a clear pathway from community engagement to formal EDS learning, we risk losing thousands of people in the UK from the skills and employment pipeline due to their lack of digital skills, qualifications and ability to fill future jobs.

This programme will help Good Things Foundation develop a scalable model for a digital skills and support pathway that can be implemented nationally.

The Role of Online Centres

Engaging individuals who are not in education or training, are unemployed, economically inactive or in low paid work in their local communities, with good relationships with referral agencies
Supporting individuals to start learning Essential Digital Skills, build their confidence
Helping individuals who have started their digital skills journey to develop their employability skills and to search for employment.

So what’s in it for new centres