I’m of the age bracket when computing classes didn’t really exist at school. Giving that I left school to go straight into catering college, it never crossed my mind. Two years of college, some qualifications, it was now time to start full time work in a hotel kitchen, so again there was no real need for me to have those skills and the world did not revolve around them. Hey, I was a teenager and there were much more temping things on offer.
After a few years working in a hotel kitchen, I became aware that the trade I had trained for wasn’t my future and a change of direction was needed. It was only at this point that I gained an awareness that I needed to learn some computer skills, so I used some of my tiny wages and signed up for evening class. I was, a whisker over 20 and the only one turning up in chef whites decorated with food stains from a day’s work. There I was feeling I had a mountain to climb and likely be around people with office experience and already leaps ahead of me.
Turning on a computer, using a mouse and navigating the screen was completely alien to me, although it did actually turn out to be the same for everyone else. Sure it took a little time to get the mouse under control and not be my enemy. Sure it also took time to learn how to use the software, however it turned out that there was no mountain to climb and more a mole hill to step over.
Lots of people still don’t know how to use a computer, however you really don’t need any special skills or powers to learn how. Things have moved on a great deal since then and we now have Tablets, which are perfect devices for those without computer skills and they takeaway nearly all of that learning.
Now that there will be a greater emphasis on remote involvement, I want to make sure that our Ambassadors are supported. For those of you that want to be an Ambassador, however don’t have the means to volunteer remotely, then I want to let you know that we can loan you a tablet device and help you get setup at home.
I might know who some of you are, so will be calling you. If you however don’t hear from me and feel that this is you, then do let me know.
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Hi Brenda, it's a warm one today isn't it.
Tablets (or similar) will be on offer to those that are committed to Involvement and want to become an Ambassador. When recruiting volunteers, these are conversations we can have at an early stage to gauge what equipment they have at home and whether additional support/equipment is needed.
Thanks
Simon
Love this article and this certainly sums up how I felt starting out in housing all those years ago. It also resonated with me on a personal level learning how to walk, nountains can be molehills - its all in the "Can do".
Thanks for this Simon. It does make me wonder how people will know of this opportunity if they have not got a tablet or computer in the first place. Will this information be relayed through the 'Tenants in Touch' magazine as well?