Now is the time to get online as Canolfan Hermon is gearing up to get local communities linked to the net in the New Year with a series of different training courses.

The courses will roll out over a number of weeks, starting in January, with the aim of helping beginners find their way around personal computers and tablets for the first time, in order to access online services and information.

Four in five people in Wales use the Internet and are able to take advantage of the opportunities that the digital world presents. Canolfan Hermon is committed to helping some of the ‘one in five’ living locally, who are not yet part of the digital revolution with the help of funding from Communities 2.0, a Welsh Government project which tackles digital exclusion across Wales.

The courses are free of charge, and hope to encourage certain groups within our communities including the over 50s, people with disabilities, or those who are economically inactive; although the criteria is quite broad and anyone interested shouldn’t be discouraged from making an enquiry about the courses.

Phil Hughes, Centre Co-coordinator at Canolfan Hermon said:

“The courses are really aimed at improving people’s lives, particularly people who may feel that digital technology has somehow passed them by. Going online can help people communicate more easily with family and friends, shop for goods at competitive prices, which is particularly helpful in rural areas like ours where transport and access can still be a problem. Also more and more public services are only available online, so a certain level of computer skills is essential to access these services.

Phil Hughes continued:

“With Christmas coming up it’s likely that some people will receive a laptop or tablet as a gift, and may not know how to use it. Our iPad or tablet course can help with that. One of your New Year’s resolutions might be to sort out your finances – our course ‘Money Made Clear’ could be the ideal solution. Maybe you need to look for a new job, Web for Work’ could help you out.

Ultimately getting online is about people not feeling isolated and helping them to benefit, both as citizens and consumers. We’re delighted that Canolfan Hermon can play such a vital role in driving forward this important community learning by using the bespoke training facilities at Community Resource Centre.”

The courses will be run at Canolfan Hermon, during the daytime, for small groups of people – generally no more than 4 – 6 people in a group. There will be plenty of individual intuition in a non-competitive environment.

If you want to take advantage of these courses, or know a friend, relative or neighbour who would like to learn how to use a computer or tablet to surf the web, we want to hear about it. We can help to train people how to email, browse the web, use an online service, communicate with social media or get connected to the Internet at home.

Please contact Phil Hughes, Centre Co-ordinator, Canolfan Hermon on T: 01239 831968, or email phil@canolfanhermon.org.uk.