Today marks the start of the ninth annual Get Online Week. Over the next seven days, the campaign aims to help tens of thousands of people realise the benefits of being online, focussing on how the internet can make completing any task, and life in general, easier.
Led by Tinder Foundation’s network of 5,000 community partners, thousands of events will take place across the country in venues of all shapes and sizes, from community centres to libraries; jobcentres to doctors surgeries, encouraging people who lack the skills, or have never been online before to use the internet to its fullest.
Get Online Week is supported by a host of corporate, public and third sector partners, including Lloyds Banking Group, who will be promoting the campaign through their branch networks, as well as their Digital Champions. Other campaign partners include NHS England, Comic Relief, the Post Office, E.ON, Remploy, Public Libraries 2020, GDS and Go ON UK.
There are 10.5million adults lacking the skills they need to succeed in today’s digital society and this is affecting the 1.8million unemployed people looking for jobs when 90% of vacancies require digital skills. Mike Oyameda, aged 50, understands better than anyone how important digital skills are for finding work.
Mike had been unemployed for three years until he attended a Get Online Week 2014 event that sent him on his journey to improving his digital skills and finding work. Mike comments:
“Attending the Get Online Week event at my local community centre was the start of me getting back into work. I gained new skills which helped me both look and apply for work online and I’ve now been in full-time work for the last year. I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in now without Get Online Week.”
Helen Milner, CEO of Tinder Foundation says: “Our aim is to ensure everyone can experience the benefits of being online. After the huge success of last year’s campaign in which we reached over 80,000 people, we want to make this year even better. Whether you’ve never touched a computer or tablet before, or just need some pointers, there’s a Get Online Week event out there for you.”
Here in Edinburgh there is a week of action in Craigmillar where the Chronicle Online is running sessions to get people involved with the new community news site. Read more here.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
