Good Things Foundation: BT Skills for Tomorrow 2020/21
Overview
What is the scheme?
Skills for Tomorrow is a major new programme by BT designed to empower 10 million people by giving them the skills they need to flourish for the digital future.
As one of the leading digital skills organisations in the UK, BT has chosen to partner with Good Things Foundation to support socially excluded people through free face-to-face support and online learning, which will help them get online and make the most of the digital tools modern life increasingly depends on.
Over the next 6 years together they’ll be supporting 60,000 individuals to benefit from the digital world.
They are currently undertaking a 6 month pilot (October 2019 - March 2020) with 20 Online Centres to understand the best delivery models for both the face-to-face support and for developing meaningful partnerships with local BT and EE sites.
As a result of the pilot, they have now collected valuable feedback from the pilot centres and now are in a position to open up the funding to more organisations in the Online Centres Network.
The target audience are people aged 18+ who are facing one or more factors of social exclusion (such as unemployment, poverty, disability, low skills) and want to learn essential digital skills. You can target your project to a specific audience if you wish.
They will also be rolling out a wider volunteering offer to the Online Centres Network as a whole, to work alongside the successful funded centres.
Project Specification
Successful applicants must have experience of supporting individuals to gain essential digital skills and will ideally have experience of using Learn My Way.
Successful Online Centres will become BT sponsored and will be required to commit to running at least one BT sponsored digital skills session per month supporting individuals to complete Learn My Way courses via a unique BT URL, including during Get Online Week.
You’ll also be expected to build a meaningful relationship with a designated BT, EE or Plusnet site and provide at least 2 volunteering opportunities for their staff to enable even more people to learn essential digital skills. They will make steps to support and link you up with your designated local site. Please see the below table for all outputs for this programme.
Northern Ireland Eligible Areas
Belfast (priority)
County Antrim
County Down
County Fermanagh
County Londonderry
Enniskillen (priority)
Who can apply?
Online Centres are now invited to apply for a grant to support socially excluded adults with no or low digital skills to learn essential digital skills.
NB - you will need to be member to apply. See how to join here.
From April 2020 they are looking to recruit a further 60-70 Online Centres from specific towns and cities across the UK to take part in the project, which will initially run for 12 months from 1 April 2020 - 31 March 2021. Successful Online Centres must be ready and able to start delivery in April 2020.
What funding is available?
Contract size
£3,000
£5,000
£10,000
1. Supporting individuals
75
individuals using Learn My Way to improve their digital skills
125
individuals using Learn My Way to improve their digital skills
250
individuals using Learn My Way to improve their digital skills
For more information see the website and the guidance notes