Update your Skills - Enrich your Life

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to not be able to use a computer?

Imagine applying for a job and not being able to get through the door because you don’t have the skills necessary to write and send an email.

For those of us who are office-based, arriving at work and switching on your computer is in the same realm of normality as brushing your teeth, morning and night.
What about those of us who have never had access to a computer, let alone thought about learning to use one?

Figures show that around 14,000,000 people in the UK do not access the internet on a regular basis so are unaware of the convenience and flexibility at which they can gather information or complete simple tasks.
Whether it be online shopping, internet banking, contacting your local MP, or finding the closest doctors surgery, the speed at which we acquire information across the net cannot be rivaled by any other source.

Helen Milner, Managing Director of UK Online Centres suggests that social inclusion will create digital inclusion; their plan has been to work within the community and break down the barriers between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots.’ By sharing knowledge throughout the community, all citizens can become digitally aware and digitally competent, which opens doors to new opportunities and creates a sense of ownership for their own learning.

UK Online’s motto is “Transforming technology – empowering people,” and along with The Lighthouse Project, they have created a place where community members can come to meet others in their area, get guidance and advice, and take essential computer courses. They provide an unassuming environment where people of any age can learn at their own pace, to develop basic skills or even work their way up to a qualification.

It’s seems to be an underlying theme is that if you motivate and inspire one aspect of your life, this will help build the confidence you will need to take positive steps in other parts of your life.

This crosses over into the workplace as well. Providing any form of further education will invigorate staff and make them feel like a valued member of staff, or in other words, an esteemed member of their ‘office’ community.

What do you do to motivate your employees or enrich your community?