February 2022 Newsletter
We're pleased to announce some great news - we're having our first event, Chalk Chat, on Thursday 3rd March!
This will be a discussion forum to find out what you want from Chalk, what further digital events you would like in the future (recruitment, exhibitions, casual drinks...), and to get us all on the same page for what we hope to achieve for digital in Eastbourne.
At the Chalk Chat, we are inviting local leaders as well as business owners and would love for you to come and contribute.
❓ Chalk Chat
📅 Thursday 3rd March 2022
📍 Bodega Eastbourne, 12 Station Street, BN21 4RG
🕔 5pm - 7pm
👨👩👧👦 All welcome
Would you be up for attending? Please let us know in advance if you can attend as the venue has limited space, and if there are any particular discussion points you'd like to add to the agenda.
In The News
New accessible guide to staying safe online
A new animated film, Safety Net, has been launched to help adults with learning disabilities have a good digital life. The film tackles issues such as not sharing or watching things that are inappropriate or unpleasant, keeping personal information private, and how to ask for help.
Safety Net, conceived by recent University of Brighton grad Rhiannon Barton, was the winning entry in a competition run by Lewes-based arts charity Culture Shift and the University. It was commissioned by East Sussex County Council's Learning Disability Services and has been created in collaboration with learning disabled adults and professionals from the sector.
Councillor Carl Maynard, lead member for adult social care and health at East Sussex County Council, said:
“For many people with learning difficulties being able to access the internet is a vital way to stay connected and one that has been so crucial during the pandemic. But it is important to know how to access this digital technology safely. Resources such as Safety Net help ensure vulnerable adults are aware of the risks and the steps they can take to stay safe and secure online.”
Please share this valuable resource with anyone who may find it useful. It is available for anyone to view or use, and includes pause points for further discussion away from the video.
Try a Virtual Reality experience near you
Having offered a mobile event service over the last few years, Hype Virtual Reality now has a permanent base in the grounds of the Piltdown Man pub near Uckfield. These avid PC gamers have developed and created a truly immersive virtual reality rollercoaster experience, loved by guests young and old.
They are currently offering 25% off standard prices until the end of March 2022, so why not check it out?
Featured profile
Donna Fielder caught up with TechResort’s CEO, Will Callaghan, to find out more about how TechResort started and what they’re working on this year.
What led to you starting TechResort in 2013?
“When my family first moved to Eastbourne from London, we saw there was such a strong community spirit. We wanted to add to this and, given my experience in digital, I decided to find out if I could do anything to grow the digital industry and build more digital skills for the workplace.
“I teamed up with a couple of like-minded individuals to see what we could achieve. And now here we are, approaching our 10th anniversary.”
Did you imagine TechResort would become the entity it is today?
“Starting something new, you never quite know what to expect. But we just took an Agile approach, doing small things, seeing worked and didn't. I knew it was going to be a long-term thing though. If you are going to be doing activities with 10-year-olds to help them get into the workplace, you know you're going to be doing it for at least 10 years!
“From our early work almost 10 years ago, we know we can make a difference. We have seen our students from back then take on real-life projects and get jobs. Everything they do is eye-opening. We learn from them and are often blown away by what they do.
“I hadn’t realised how varied it would be. The coding clubs we started out with have been a great success, but there's a lot more to it than that. TechResort is also about digital skills for life - the pandemic really highlighted the number of people that are marginalised by a lack of access and skills around digital.”
How are your new offices working out so far? And why stay in Eastbourne?
“We were previously based in East Sussex College, and that was great in terms of having direct access to students and doing work with them. However, for schools and adults visiting us, it wasn’t as easy as being in town. So we have now moved into an office in Cavendish Place. It’s easy to get to, a bustling place, and importantly we now have a front door. People can drop in during the day for learning sessions with us. We have staff there most days and it is essentially a shop.
“We founded TechResort in Eastbourne to help Eastbourne. We all live here and love it, and so there was no thought of upping sticks and moving out of the town.”
You work with a wide range of partner organisations - how do these alliances come about?
“Because we don’t get public funding for coding clubs and a lot of the other work we do, we are forever writing bids. Through those bids, we meet many other organisations. We do a lot of work with the Sussex Community Foundation which has provided a lot of funding, for example for laptop refurbishment and donation. We met The Blagrave Trust during the pandemic and we are now offering a work experience program, thanks to them.
“Also because we have been around a while, we’ve found out which organisations are on the same journey as us. For example, we met 100% Digital Leeds, who run Leeds City Council’s Digital Inclusion programme; we partnered with them and now we learn from each other. The longer we stick around, the more people like this we meet. Adur and Worthing Council came to us saying they wanted to create a maker space but didn’t know how, so they asked us for advice.
“We are getting known and putting Eastbourne on the map for Digital, which is great.”
How is TechResort specifically supporting schools with their ‘digital curriculum’ and careers advice?
“What we provide at TechResort is in addition to what students are already getting in schools. We have worked with three Eastbourne schools so far and we would like to increase this. It has been about opening the young people's eyes to the digital industry and giving them a real flavour of all they can do. For example, through a Coding Club at Cavendish School: it’s not as formal as regular teaching, we show them all the things they can explore and let them play and experiment. If something they are doing isn’t working, we don't dive in and plug it all in for them. We want them to be able to learn to fix it, giving them support along the way. We give them the message that it doesn’t matter that they don’t know the answers, they just need to be keen to explore and learn.
“The ideal for us is starting with students in Year 5 and then sticking with them as far as possible. Girls can drop out of this industry very easily and we want to do something about this. The latest Cavendish Coding Club had a cohort of 13 girls and 2 boys, so we need to find ways to support those girls.
“In addition to Coding Clubs and careers talks in schools, we also run a Teens’ Club at our office for any young people, where they can bring their own projects. Our message is that there is so much more in the digital industry in addition to coding - we explain all the different disciplines and how the industry needs all of them.”
How can schools get involved?
“We have the capacity and want to work with more schools. The problem is funding. We are yet to find a funder who wants to pay for coding and making clubs for children aged 10. There are funders covering work experience and activities for older children, as they are closer to joining the workplace.
“Our other work has enabled us to build up reserves to help pay for the coding clubs, but it is a finite resource. But if a school wants to get involved, we can potentially part-fund. Or it would be great for a local digital business to sponsor a coding club.
“It is also important that our public sessions, which are also for adults, are affordable.
“One message for parents is - don’t just bring your boys, bring your girls too! Don’t discount this area of work, as it is very rewarding and creative.”
Can you tell us a bit more about the digital inclusion toolkit and how this has been received/utilised by other local authorities?
“This started during COVID, with services moving online. Anyone without the skills, confidence, kit and/or connectivity to get online faced an issue. It has always been a problem, but the pandemic accelerated this.
“The government asked local councils to suggest digital projects that could help tackle the worst effects of the pandemic. I was working at Croydon Council at the time, as well as running TechResort, and we decided we wanted to make a website where the best digital inclusion advice could be published. Leeds Council had the same idea and so after both applying for funding, we partnered together.
“We created a website: digitalinclusionkit.org. This includes all the advice from TechResort and 100% Digital Leeds, as well as from other local councils around the country. It has lots of information for councils on how they can get digital inclusion programs started. Although the website is aimed at councils, it is relevant for other groups too.
“People love it. In a lot of councils, we have found they realise that digital inclusion is a problem as they are not hearing from their regular clients since their services went online. They wonder what they are going to do; that is where the digital inclusion toolkit comes in. We are saving them a lot of time and preventing them from reinventing the wheel.”
What are you most excited about working on in 2022?
“More digital inclusion toolkit activity, as it’s making a difference at scale across the UK.
“We would love to work with more schools and also do more at our new home in Cavendish Place. A lot of that will be work experience for young people and, if I had to pick one thing to focus on, it would be that. So many students haven’t had any work experience because of the pandemic and we, as employers, will start to feel the effects of that in the coming years.”
Can the Chalk community help with any of your projects? And if so, how?
“There are so many ways the Chalk community can help:
If you have laptops sitting around, please give them to us or Tubbs Computer Supplies.
Come along to our sessions - you will meet lots of young people and learn. You will also make friendships and relationships with students that will last.
We are thinking of running a ‘friend scheme’ for local employers to join. There will be a membership fee, which will pay for coding and making clubs in schools.
“We are open to conversation - if you have something you would like to do, come and talk to us, we want to hear about your needs. Government and councils move very slowly, so if we want to make difference, we as an industry need to make things happen.”
Finally, what advice would you give people wanting to start working in the digital industry?
“If you want a careers chat, drop us an email or contact us on social media (we’re on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn).
“As our sessions re-start after the pandemic, please come along. They are not all for young people, there are plenty for adults too.
“Learn about the various jobs in this industry. A lot of people focus on game design, which is superficially very appealing. But that can be very competitive and tough to get into. Read about the industry and talk to employers, as there is so much to what we do.”
Watch our full chat with Will on TechResort’s YouTube channel.
Events
BLOCK BY BLOCK
If you're as big a fan of Notion as we are, you'll be interested in their virtual conference on Wednesday 2nd March 2022. There are a range of talks focusing on personal productivity and team success with guest speakers from Bumble, Miro, Gong, Typeform, Loom, Branch.io, and more.
See the full schedule and register here.
NATIONAL CAREERS WEEK
If you're a local business looking to speak directly to young talent in Eastbourne, there are plenty of careers events coming up in schools in March.
Turing School in Shinewater is looking for employers to inspire and motivate their students, either in a whole year group assembly or a workshop between 7th-12th March.
Hailsham Community College is hosting a Careers Fair on Friday 11th March, a face-to-face event for all sectors.
Shinewater Primary School is looking for employers to talk to Year 5 and 6 students about their roles during w/c 14th March.
Uckfield College is looking for exhibitors for their College Careers Fair on Wednesday 16th March.
Ratton School is inviting employers to have a stand at the Eastbourne Schools Careers Fair, supported by East Sussex College, at Eastbourne Sports Park on Friday 18th March (free for both schools and exhibitors).
For more details and contacts, see this Events Calendar in full.
One Last Thing
Code Club Volunteer needed!
The Library Service is looking for volunteers over 18 to support their teenage mentors to run Code Club at local libraries. Code Club aims to inspire the next generation to get excited about computer science through these free, volunteer-led sessions in Eastbourne and Hastings.
If you can spare some time to help the community, find out more and sign up to become a Code Club library volunteer here.
