Stories from the Digital Skills Pathway pilots
Here we hear about from beneficiaries who took part in the Digital Skills Pathway pilots in their local communities.
Jasmine is a part-time dinner lady at a primary school. Her work is insecure and precarious, with little room for progression. She is also the primary carer for her adult son, who deals with severe autism and is non-verbal. As a full-time carer and part-time worker, Jasmine has very little time or support for any learning.
Once Jasmine heard about BBNet’s IT Skills course being delivered in conjunction with Good Things’ Learn My Way programme, she was interested to learn more. However, she remained hesitant in undertaking the course due to the multiple barriers she faced: her lack of time and means to learn due to caring for her son; lack of a digital device and the money to buy one; and limited knowledge of English, which made completing a training course in English difficult.
To accommodate Jasmine’s needs and circumstances, BBNet were keen to tailor the course around her with home tutoring where she was most comfortable, outside office hours so she could look after her son and learn simultaneously. The entirety of her training was done in her native language, Bangla, with the tutor translating any English she was unfamiliar with.
In remaining flexible to Jasmine’s individual needs and tailoring support, the tutor helped her complete the course swiftly, over only two evenings.
This training not only boosts her employability, but provides Jasmine with a variety of digital skills she did not have the opportunity to learn before. She has gained her confidence in developing her IT skills and being encouraged to trust in her own ability.
Jasmine hopes to complete a degree in Business Management in the future to further improve her prospects.
Shukri is a Syrian refugee who came to the UK in 2018. With support from TLC College, he was able to integrate into the new country as part of the Syrian refugee support programme.
In May 2022, Shukri commenced the Digital Skills Pathway in the West Midlands area to gain the confidence needed to take the next steps in his journey to improve his digital skills.
Through the pilot programme, Shukri attended ICT and Online Basics sessions at TLC College, learning the basics of being online, computing, how to send and receive emails, introduction to social media, and how to conduct job searches. From these basics, he has progressed to an ICT accredited course and joined accredited ESOL classes to develop his English language skills.
He has begun to use the refurbished tablet that he received from the project, complete with connectivity.
Shukri has been incredibly happy with his progression with digital, and felt the TLC College environment a pleasant one to learn in, thus wanting to continue making progress there.