Скачать или смотреть After School Coding Clubs in Torfaen

Supporting and Rewarding Young Digital Volunteers:

This project's goal is to champion and reward digitally savvy young people (aged 13 - 25 years) for taking their digital skills out of the bedroom and into the community. We want to encourage more young people to volunteer their time for the benefit of others, but at the same time gain valuable employability skills through their experience of teaching other youngsters to learn about various aspects of technology.

The project is based in South East Wales, with a particular focus on the Valleys where educational attainment is low, and a large proportion of people possess few or no qualifications. Unemployment rates are also higher here than the UK national average. Meanwhile, there is a severe skills gap in the technology industry both in Wales and across the UK. Inspiring young people to both attend and volunteer at digital clubs is seen as a key stepping stone to inspiring them to a career in the digital industry but also helping them improve their likelihood of employment in this thriving industry.

The target for the project is young people who are already volunteering or could be encouraged to volunteer their digital skills in after school clubs, libraries, weekend and holiday clubs and other digital events in the community.

The organisation facilitating digital volunteering opportunities is a Community Interest Company based in Torfaen called The Digital Volunteers. We are already supporting a cluster of after-school coding clubs in Torfaen and Monmouthshire, and are planning to help set up clubs in Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Newport. Our service is to recruit volunteers who teach digital skills in the clubs, and working with STEMnet we provide appropriate induction training and ongoing support. Whilst we also encourage adult volunteers from the business world to help run the digital clubs, our key goal is to grow and support the younger generation through the opportunities that volunteering can offer.