Public call for more IT training answered

A raft of free courses designed to help get people in Swansea online have proved so popular that the Council is now laying on evening sessions to meet demand.

A raft of free courses designed to help get people in Swansea online have proved so popular that the Council is now laying on evening sessions to meet demand.

Get Swansea Online is a campaign aimed at driving down the numbers of people who are being left out of the benefits of being able to access the internet, such as keeping in touch with friends and family, applying for jobs or cutting costs.

A series of free courses aimed at absolute beginners have been set up across the city by Swansea Council but demand has been so high many of them have already been booked up until September.

Now, in response to demand from members of the public the Get Swansea Online team have set up evening courses in Bryn House in Uplands, starting in September, with more planned.

Clive Lloyd, the authority’s Cabinet Member for Transformation and Performance said feedback from those who had already taken part in the courses had been overwhelmingly positive. He said:

“We are carefully evaluating this project as we go and asking people who take part if they are satisfied. Overwhelmingly they are. Our tutors have been rated with the highest possible ‘very good’ in 100 percent of cases while the number of people who are going away confident enough to continue to use the internet is more than 90 percent, which is really good news.”

The Welsh Government wants to reduce levels of digital exclusion among adults from 21% to 13% (24,918) by 2017. Cllr Lloyd explained why it was such an important issue:

“Improving people’s digital skills and helping them get online improves their chances of continuing their education and expands their job prospects. It can help connect older and isolated people to their communities more effectively and improve people’s access to health and social services information. These benefits make their greatest impact on the lives of people who may be more vulnerable to being marginalised so we have to do what we can.”

For people who don’t want to attend a structured course there are free Digital Friday drop in sessions being held at libraries across the city. These are designed for people of all abilities and they can either use the library IT facilities or bring their own tablets or mobiles.