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opportunities. The new \u00a326 million phase aims to get 23,000 households online.<\/p>\nConnecting Scotland has launched a new phase to support those seeking employment or to develop skills for employment opportunities. The new \u00a326 million phase aims to get 23,000 households online.<\/p>\n
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:<\/p>\n
Families with children: 17,289
\nIsolating and high vulnerability group: 8,061
\nYoung care leavers: 4,120
\nOlder and disabled people: 4,899
\nOther vulnerabilities: 1,695<\/p>\n
Finance and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes said:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to seizing Scotland\u2019s 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\u2019s 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 \u00a326 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cath, a single mum of four children under 12 said:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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.”<\/p>\n
In addition to the new phase for applications the programme has launched a series of \u201cSpotlight\u201d months for Digital Champions \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
You can find more information on the programme at www.connecting.scot<\/a> or email help@connecting.scot<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you or your colleagues work with organisations or on projects supporting those who would benefit from the programme please share the news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Connecting Scotland has launched a new phase to support those seeking employment or to develop skills for employment opportunities. The new \u00a326 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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":317,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[248,6],"tags":[211,251,249,250],"class_list":["post-3810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecting-scotland","category-digital-scotland","tag-connecting-scotland","tag-employment","tag-phase-3","tag-supporting-skills"],"yoast_head":"\n