Digital

Connecting Scotland – Phase 3 launch

June 9, 2021 by Stewart Hamilton No Comments | Category Connecting Scotland, Digital Scotland

Connecting Scotland has launched a new phase to support those seeking employment or to develop skills for employment opportunities. The new £26 million phase aims to get 23,000 households online.

The Connecting Scotland programme provides a device, data, training and support to digitally excluded and low income households. Since May 2020 the Connecting Scotland programme has delivered to over 36,000 households through 590 organisations all over Scotland. The breakdown of end users for the programme is:

Families with children: 17,289
Isolating and high vulnerability group: 8,061
Young care leavers: 4,120
Older and disabled people: 4,899
Other vulnerabilities: 1,695

Finance and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes said:

“We are committed to seizing Scotland’s economic potential, creating secure, sustainable and satisfying jobs and supporting businesses recover from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. With technology playing an increasingly important role in our society, ensuring people can get online and have the right skills and training is even more important to Scotland’s recovery from the pandemic. The Scottish Government committed to helping more people get online within our first 100 days plan and that is why we are providing an additional £26 million to help a further 23,000 households. This investment will help thousands of people get online, making sure they are not further disadvantaged by providing the necessary hardware, data, and skills they need to get connected and get the skills they need to enter the workforce.”

Cath, a single mum of four children under 12 said:

“We were delighted to receive a chromebook from the Libertie Project through the Connecting Scotland Phase 2 rollout. It has been a huge benefit to our online schooling and lockdown. The device enabled my children to independently work on their google classrooms which in turn increased their confidence and helped improve their school work. There was also a positive effect on their wellbeing in general by being able to connect digitally with friends and family during lockdown.”

In addition to the new phase for applications the programme has launched a series of “Spotlight” months for Digital Champions – the people who provide support and training to help recipients get online. Each month Digital Champions will receive tools and resources to deepen support to Connecting Scotland end users around a different theme. The first theme is Communicating and Connecting which will explore how to set-up and use online platforms to call friends and family, using social media and making devices accessible for users.

You can find more information on the programme at www.connecting.scot or email help@connecting.scot.

If you or your colleagues work with organisations or on projects supporting those who would benefit from the programme please share the news.

Tags: Connecting Scotland, employment, Phase 3, Supporting skills

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