Evie Tait joined the Rural Digital Inclusion project as the first external apprentice employed by Newcastle University – which aims to build digital skills, confidence and engagement across the county’s ‘hard-to-reach’ communities – in August last year.
The apprenticeship was created thanks to funding from leading UK telecoms network provider Commsworld, as part of the company’s long-term commitment to modernising and transforming Northumberland’s digital infrastructure.
Evie was tasked with working across three partner organisations – the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE), Community Action Northumberland and iNorthumberland – to develop content that helped encourage everyone around the county to engage with all things digital.
Evie said the aim of the project was to help people throughout Northumberland cope with the societal shift toward online services where people are increasingly using digital devices to book doctor appointments, engage with council services, even just shop and do their homework.
For those living in areas of the county which until recently had little or no high-speed internet access, that was not an option. The result was they never developed the digital skills that others in areas where broadband has been in place for many years have already developed.
Evie said: “I’m really proud to have been the very first apprentice. It has been terrific fun, and hugely rewarding. For many rural communities, the digital divide is a hugely significant issue, and that’s why projects such as this are so important, to make sure it doesn’t widen even further.”
Evie has spent the past 12 months recording the progress that the project has made – as well as playing an instrumental part in promoting activities, such as Techy Tea Parties in Village Halls across the county.
Techy tea parties are one-off special events where locals can drop in and enjoy some free advice about getting online and using technology – while enjoying a cuppa and some cake.
One key ingredient involves the presence of volunteer digital champions. CAN and NICRE, supported by Evie, have worked to recruit a host of digital champions from across the county. They gathered dozens of people of all ages who pass on their knowledge to those less digital savvy.
Techy Tea Parties have been held at Ponteland Merton Hall and also the village hall in Stannington. Among the Digital Champions attending were students and lecturers from Newcastle University, who joined up after viewing Evie’s content campaign online. They were joined by fellow volunteers who were also drawn to the role because of their love of giving their time to pass on digital knowledge to others.
People who arrived were able to access free devices to get online at the hall, although many also came with their own. The Digital Champions were then able to answer any specific questions they had – helping them successfully navigate to the resource they wanted to access.
It’s vital work, as recent statistics show 15% of the UK population lack decent broadband access, and how in rural areas 11% have no superfast broadband connection – compared to 2% of urban areas.
This in turn impacts on people, with 40% saying they lack the necessary digital skills for modern life, and 14% of households lacking access to learning resources due to insufficient broadband.
Evie continued: “Stannington was brilliant to be involved with, and showed just why our Techy Tea Parties are hitting the mark right across Northumberland. You could actually see people grow in confidence as they realised how they were learning to use their devices.”
Evie added that, in between creating content for the project, she herself has trained as a Digital Champion in order to help. She now hopes to encourage others to follow in her footsteps and join the campaign to boost digital skills and confidence in communities.
She added: “It’s been hugely rewarding, I really feel that what I’m doing is making a difference. You can see the impact on people’s lives when they understand how to log into things and make things happen. They tell us that they can feel things changing for the better.”
Evie’s apprenticeship is set to end around Easter. After that, she will continue working for NICRE, capturing more feedback and learning in order to develop a blueprint for digital inclusion for other communities as well as local and regional policy-makers.
“I will continue to work hard and make my contribution to bridging the digital divide in Northumberland.”
To learn more about becoming a Digital Champion, please visit the NICRE website here, or contact Marc Johnson at Community Action Northumberland at marcjohnson@ca-north.org.uk
