The Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) is expanding its Tech4Youth programme to the Solway Coast in Cumbria, coinciding with End Digital Poverty Day.
This expansion will support 275 young people, aged 11-to-19, in the Solway Coast and surrounding areas including Silloth, Wigton, Maryport, and Aspatria. The initiative focuses on providing laptops, free internet access, and digital literacy workshops to address the challenges of digital access in these regions.
Research by the DPA reveals that 86% of parents of digitally excluded children cite cost as the primary barrier preventing access to laptops. The programme, backed by £78,000 from the Macquarie Foundation and broadband provider Voneus, aims to alleviate this issue.
Additionally, 92% of parents reported a significant increase in their children’s motivation to learn after receiving a laptop. This underscores the crucial role that digital access plays in educational engagement. For older youths beginning to explore employment opportunities, digital skills are indispensable.
With 90% of jobs now advertised online, access to technology and the development of digital competencies are essential for expanding career prospects and enabling continued online training, vital for future employability.
Elizabeth Anderson, CEO at the Digital Poverty Alliance, stated: “We are so pleased to have had the opportunity to grow our work in Cumbria and support more young people by providing access to online learning and digital skills. Providing laptops and workshops where young people from the Solway Coast can learn skills is an essential step to narrowing the gap in this region and empowering the next generation of Cumbria. Overall, this will ensure that every young person is faced with the same opportunities during their schooling and post education, as they enter employment.”
Christopher Traggio, CEO at Voneus, added: “We are thrilled to be partnering with the Digital Poverty Alliance on this scheme to amplify investment in devices and skills for young people in Solway Coast who are unfairly digitally excluded.”
The expansion of the Tech4Youth programme by the Digital Poverty Alliance aims to bridge the digital divide faced by young people in Cumbria through significant investments in technology and skills development.