KENNY CALLS FOR COMMUNITY GROUPS TO HELP TRAIN DIGITALLY EXCLUDED

Posted on April 16, 2013 11:44 AM   |   Permanent Link   

Seán Kenny, the Dublin Bay North Labour T.D. and member of the Oireachtas Communications Committee, has welcomed the announcement of further grant allocation being made available for digital skills training under the BenefIT scheme.

"The BenefIT 4 scheme will support the National Digital Strategy (NDS), which will be published shortly, building on the very positive outcomes of the previous BenefIT schemes. In order to help citizens get the skills they need to avail of internet services, I am today calling for proposals from community organisations to help us deliver a scheme for digital skills training, through the BenefIT 4 scheme."

"At least one in five adults in Ireland has never used the internet. The BenefIT schemes aim to reduce this by offering practical training in the digital skills through community and voluntary organisations. The BenefIT schemes have successfully helped thousands of people."

"Under the scheme, the Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources will spend €1.4 million over the next 12 months to help people get on-line. Training has already been provided for almost 90,000 people under previous Benefit schemes but the work is by no means finished. The additional grant announced will extend the work in this area."

"BenefIT 3 is now coming to a close nationwide. By March 2013, it provided training to over 34,500 people at approximately 700 locations, involving over 200 organisations. Of the participants who were trained, 64% were aged over 55 years of age, 2,707 were unemployed, and 1,845 had a disability. The trainees were extremely satisfied with the training - 99.4% said they would recommend the course. 76% rated the trainer as 'excellent' and 22% rated the trainer as 'very good'. The scheme made a positive impact with 8 out of 10 trainees saying they were now more likely to use a computer. Over 30% - 10,405 people - said that as a result of doing the course they were likely to buy a computer, laptop, tablet or similar device soon."

"The scheme is open to community, voluntary and not-for-profit organisations who can provide the relevant digital skills training. Details of the scheme, including who is eligible to apply, and how applications will be evaluated are set out in the guidelines, which along with an application form can be obtained at www.eInclusion.ie. An advertising campaign will also run nationwide."