Not having your own equipment, lack of motivation or poor Finnish or English language skills can reduce the chances of learning digital skills. The Digital Working Life project will focus on these areas in particular. The courses organised by the City of Helsinki also provide participants with equipment on which to practise their digital skills. What's new is that the phones used in the course can also be taken home and, after completing the course, participants will receive a smartphone free of charge. This will ensure that digital inclusion is reinforced after the course. The course will increase motivation by linking digital skills training to the participants’ own interests.
Digital skills an important factor in employment
- It is important for the City of Helsinki to support all the measures that help increase the likelihood of Helsinki residents finding employment. When people get jobs, well-being also increases. Digital skills are often a key factor in employment, says Annukka Sorjonen, Service Manager for Immigration and Employment Affairs at the City of Helsinki.
The aim of the City of Helsinki's economic policy is to improve the likelihood of employment for residents and to ensure that companies have access to a sufficient number of skilled workers. However, people with poor Finnish or English language skills are easily excluded from digital services and the online labour market. The Digital Working Life project has also been developed by specifically listening to the needs of customers, and courses are also organised in a targeted manner for those who do not yet speak Finnish or speak it poorly. The courses are taught in Finnish, Somali, Arabic and English. Other teaching languages will also be arranged as necessary. The project also takes into account the need for women-only services, and organises women-only groups.
Almost 90% of those who took the course felt that they had learnt useful job search skills
The digital courses started at the end of May 2020 and will run until summer 2023. By mid-October, 89 people had already taken the Digital Working Life course. According to feedback from the courses, almost 90% of the participants felt that they had learned new skills that would be useful in their job search.
- We really want people to benefit from taking part in the course and the feedback from those who have taken the course has been positive. Course participants learn digital job application skills such as sending a job application by email. In addition, the courses teach a lot of digital skills that make everyday life easier and promote individual well-being, not forgetting the social impact of the courses, which has been important for many course participants, says Joonas Rentola, Project Manager of the Digital Working Life project.
The Digital Working Life project is funded by the European Social Fund and implemented by the City of Helsinki. The project is being funded as part of the European Union's response to the COVID-19 pandemic during 2022 and 2023. Jobseekers can register for the courses through their own personal employment expert.
For more information on the project, visit here(Link leads to external service)