New rural enterprise guide - support other organisations with digital

Online Centres Network News Bulletin

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Thursday 30 July 2020

Hello <<First Name>>

As announced last week, you can now register to host an event for this year’s Get Online Week, taking place between 19-25 October. We appreciate the circumstances are a little different this year, which is why we’re asking organisations to host virtual events. There are lots of things you can do to provide digital support remotely, whether that’s a phone call, hosting a digital coffee morning, creating a WhatsApp group to share digital tips and challenges, and much more! We’ll be sharing more ideas in the coming weeks, but to make sure you don’t miss out on important updates about this year's campaign, sign up to our newsletter here.

We hosted a number of successful ‘virtual meet up’ sessions for our community partners, earlier this year. It was great to see lots of individuals come together and support each other and share their knowledge and expertise. We’ve planned two more events, for Tuesday 18 August, 10am to 12pm and Wednesday 25 November, 2pm to 5pm. Community partners will also get the opportunity to attend a workshop of their choice from either remote delivery or bid writing. Visit the website to find out more and register your interest.

Best wishes
Good Things Foundation

Rural enterprise guide - how to support SMEs with digital

Last week as part of National Countryside Week, we launched our How to Scale Rural Enterprise guide which sets out how community organisations can work with other individuals and organisations to support rural SMEs with digital, by embedding digital as an extension of the services they already provide.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to A1 Community Works, Airedale Enterprise Services and the Champions from the Digital Enterprise pilot for all their hard work and input into this guide.

You can read the guide here and to find out more about the Digital Enterprise pilot, check out our infographic.

Take a read of the guide

GATEWAY QUALIFICATIONS OFFER ESSENTIAL DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING

The awarding organisation Gateway Qualifications is providing Essential Digital Skills Qualifications (EDSQ), based on the Government’s Essential Digital Skills Framework. The qualification is funded for individuals who do not have the basic digital skills which are required to carry out day to day tasks, both across their personal lives and work. The qualifications aim to support adults in joining the digital world and include topics such as:

- Using devices and handling information (including how to store information)
- Creating and editing
- Communicating online (e.g. via social media)
- Purchasing goods online
- Online safety, responsibilities and legal matters

Regular launch webinars are currently taking place to help you find out more information about the qualifications. Visit the website to find upcoming dates and to book your place.

If your organisation is thinking about delivering the sessions, you can also apply to offer a qualification. Complete the form and a member of their team will be in touch to discuss requirements and next steps.

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