Digital help to bridge divide

Nidderdale Plus has appointed Jo Hayes as a digital champion coordinator after the Covid pandemic highlighted the problems many suffered navigating every day services online.

“The Digital Champions service at Nidd Plus is here to help people get on line and increase their level of digital skills,” said Helen Flynn of Nidd Plus.

“There is a growing gap in equality between people who are digitally enabled and those who are not and this is why we have set up this service: to help people in our area become confident and competent in digital skills.

“That could be for people who don’t really get much out of their mobile phone to those who want to email and send photographs and that kind of thing.

“So what Jo is able to do, she can make appointments for people to come here and we can use one of our library computers to show people how to get online.

“And she can go into people’s homes and help people to use things such as tablets.”

In her new role, Jo will also coordinate a new and growing team of digital champions.

Helen added: “She will be recruiting volunteer digital champions who will go into their own area to help people, skilling them up with the kind of training they need so that they can teach people to get them online.”

“What we have decided to do here in Nidderdale Plus is employ someone for six months so that we have got some sustainablility to help get people online.”

Anyone who would like to volunteer as a Digital Champion, can get in touch with Jo at: [email protected].