Tinder Foundation secures Future Digital Inclusion contract

Tinder Foundation has secured a contract with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for the Future Digital Inclusion programme.

The programme is part of the governments Digital Inclusion Strategy, which aims to develop a cross-government digital programme.

The government launched its Digital Inclusion Strategy back in April 2014 to reduce the number of UK people who are not online by 25%.

The strategy brings together 40 public, private and voluntary sector organisations who have signed a UK Digital Inclusion Charter in a bid to get 2.7 million additional people online by 2016, and a further 25% every two years after.

Not-for-profit social enterprise Tinder Foundation plan to support 200,000 people during 2014-15, enabling them to gain digital skills via existing UK online centres throughout local communities.

Hundreds of organisations will be able to apply for grants, with thousands gaining access to online resources and network support.

The unemployed will be specifically targeted, or those on low incomes and in low-skilled jobs. In addition, people with a disability or learning difficulty, people in rural areas and people who are socially excluded will be supported.

The learners will be taught through the Tinder Foundation’s learning platform Learn My Way. The platform teaches web skills such as email, safety, job searching and transacting.

Minister for culture and the digital economy Ed Vaizey said for the UK to remain a leading digital nation it is essential everyone has the skills they need to benefit from the internet. 

This programme represents a huge commitment from government to supporting people in some of the hardest-to-reach communities to improve their life chances

Helen Milner, Tinder Foundation

“Digital can make our economy stronger by supporting individuals to find work and providing our businesses with further opportunities to grow, innovate and access new markets," he said.

“We need to ensure those without basic online skills are not left behind, and the Future Digital Inclusion programme will play a critical role in ensuring these individuals develop the digital skills they need to succeed.”

The contract will enable 2,000 people to progress further to achieve a City & Guilds certificate in Basic Online Skills and more than 750 digital champions will be trained to offer their support on a voluntary basis in their local communities.

Minister of state for skills and equalities Nick Boles said digital skills are increasingly essential for people wishing to progress in learning and employment.

“As the digital inclusion programme shows, we are committed to helping those people most in need to develop the skills and confidence they need to get online," he said.

Tinder Foundation chief executive Helen Milner said the organisation is delighted to have been successful with its bid to deliver the Future Digital Inclusion programme.

“This programme represents a huge commitment from government to supporting people in some of the hardest-to-reach communities to improve their life chances, find work, learn more about the things that interest them and more,” she said.

“With more and more government services moving online, it is vital the government commits to supporting those without basic online skills, to ensure no-one is left behind, and this programme will have a huge impact on doing this,” she added.