New digital help centre opens in Okehampton

Okehampton residents are considered to have one of the best environments in which to live in the UK. But, by a range of measurements, Devon has disquieting levels of rural poverty, including inequalities in health, education, employment, housing and so on.

In 2017, the Government published a Digital Skills strategy and updated it in 2023. It made lots of exciting promises about improving digital business, economy and skills and wanting the UK to be a world leader in all matters digital. In many areas of the country, these aspirations have been fulfilled but here in the South West, results have been mixed. Surveys by the TechPartnership show alarming differences in technological knowledge between rural mid-Devon and even Exeter or Plymouth, let alone the Home Counties.

A wide range of local authorities, organisations, such as health care and utilities, plus commercial businesses, depend on access via the internet to their products and services, while the ability of the local population, of any age, to understand and access those services is not keeping pace.

Webcliq cic aim to do something about this by providing free support and training to everyone, to develop the skills they need, to participate in the digital economy and help all businesses harness the productivity benefits of digital innovation. They want to ensure that people in the Okehampton area who lack core digital skills do not have to pay to access the support and training they need, when in practice, such support or training would cost more than they can afford.

Webcliq cic, a charitable company, has a base in the A30 Business Centre in Okehampton. The team of digital champions, who will provide the advice, support and training, consists of volunteers from all areas of business background, who share a passion and experience in information technology, plus other skills such as management and marketing. They are prepared to give their time, free of charge, to staff the centre and provide the support and training to those that need it, in the friendly and informal environment that the Business Centre offers.

No task, problem or training issue is considered too small or unimportant for the team. They aim to provide a service that people are comfortable to use frequently. They will establish the client's technical knowledge so that they can to talk to the client at the right level and solve their current problem without making them feel inadequate or embarrassed. They will be happy to cover a range of issues with laptops, PCs, smartphones and the internet.

Volunteers are also available for chargeable work and projects to visit individuals in their home or provide packages of equipment and services to local businesses.

As the year progresses, the Centre will publish a diary of the training courses it is running and will be providing more details of the vocational (NVQ) courses on information technology and business administration. The Centre will also support and tutor learners who are studying on-line, both locally in their dedicated training area or remotely.

The Centre is open at least 5 days a week and can be contacted by telephone, email or messaging on WhatsApp. There is no need to book but if an issue needs specialist help, we may need to organises a one-to-one for a future day.

In addition to providing support and training courses, the Centre acts as a repair cafe to help with equipment repairs, can recycle or refurbish equipment for re-sale and has a range of second-hand equipment plus useful telephone and computer accessories, at sensible prices.

The Centre:

• has a website at https://webcliq.com/

• has an on-line support ticket system at https://support.webcliq.com/

• and a self-help forum at https://forum.webcliq.com/