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Dorset Digital Leadership course
Refreshing new way to receive digital help
Our volunteer digital champions have added a new service to their menu after launching new sessions at a café and restaurant.
Visitors to the Pavilion in the Park (PIP) café in Poundbury and Anglebury House in Wareham can now get more than just a ‘byte’ to eat.
On Thursdays (2 to 4pm) in Poundbury and Fridays (10am to 12 noon) in Wareham, people can also drop-in to see volunteer digital champions Mike Watson and Mike Hicks with any digital query they might have.
From getting to grips with a new device or learning how to use online services like banking apps or GP appointments, the two Mikes will be ready to help.
Altogether, we have 45 champions providing face-to-face support all over Dorset. To find out where your nearest one is call 01305 221048 (Mon-Fri) or click the button below.
Find a digital champion
Be like Norma and help your customers get online
Our free training programme to recruit an army of special advisors to help Dorset’s digitally excluded residents get online has been re-launched.
Open to any Dorset organisation, the ‘Embedded Digital Champion’ programme trains people who can champion online services to their customers.
The Dorset Council course has already trained 1,300 of the county’s frontline workers and is now being delivered by Barclays Digital Wings.
Training is completely online and can be done in a time frame that suits individual participants.
Embedded digital champions will be part of a Dorset-wide community and receive regular news, support, and tips from Dorset Council’s digital skills team.
Be like #DigitalNorma - our very first embedded digital champion - and sign up today.
For more information and to be invited to a no-obligation welcome meeting, email edc@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Image of red sim card document pouches. Text overlaying reads, Struggling to afford to be online or use a smartphone?
Are you, or is someone you know, struggling to afford to be online or use a smartphone? Then help is available.
We have teamed up with Good Things Foundation to provide free SIM cards that last for 6 months. These SIM cards offer up to 20GB of data per month to individuals who cannot afford data and have limited or no access to the internet.
Eligibility Criteria:
• Recipients must be aged 18 or over.
• Must come from a low-income household.
Find out more and apply
Are you ready for the digital switchover? BT/EE customers are invited to attend roadshow events to find out more
Landlines in the UK are going digital by the end of January 2027.
To help prepare its customers, and to answer any questions they might have, BT/EE is running three drop-in events in the Dorset Council area in September:
* Weymouth Library, 3 September, 10am to 2pm.
* Shaftesbury, Market Square (BT truck) 12 September, 8.30am to 2.30pm.
* Blandford Library, 16 September, 10am to 4pm
It is also holding three events just outside of the Dorset Council area:
* Bournemouth Library, The Triangle, 11 September, 10am to 2pm
* Morrison's car park (BT truck), Lysander Road, Yeovil, 17-18 September, 10am to 4pm
* Seaton Library, Queen Street, Devon, 19 September, 10am to 4pm.
You don’t have to pre-book, just turn up.
Can you help inspire the next generation of coders and STEM professionals?
Calling all Dorset tech professionals - our future generation needs you!
We’re busy organising this year’s annual #DorsetCodingDay
for school pupils in years 5,6 and 7 - and we already have more than 5,000 children signed up!
And to help make the event as successful as possible, we need people in the local digital tech sector who can give up some of their time to help inspire the children taking part.
As a Dorset Coding Day tech volunteer, you will go into classrooms during the week of the event (7-11 October) and help the pupils with their coding challenge and to tell them about your own careers.
For more information and to sign up, click the button below.
Sign up for Dorset Coding Day
Businesses - where are you on the Net Zero journey?
Calling all Dorset businesses - can you spare five minutes to share your views on the journey to Net Zero?
With the government aiming for all businesses to secure zero carbon emissions by 2050, we want to know where you are on the journey.
Your input will contribute to the Dorset Local Skills Improvement Plan, delivered by Dorset Chamber, to help shape the training support Dorset businesses need to achieve their goal of Net Zero.
Complete the survey here:
Take the survey
Re-connect - a conference for Dorset's tech industry
Join the Dorset tech community on 14 August for a day packed with speakers, discussion and opportunities for learning in the thriving tech hub of the region.
The event, organised by Women in Tech Dorset, is focused on emerging trends in tech and offers an opportunity to meet like minded individuals.
Hear from Sally Goble, Engineering Director at Accurx, Professor Andy Stanford-Clark, Innovation Leader - IBM SPEED team and Ana Avaliani, Director of Enterprise at the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Tickets are limited to a total of 200; businesses are encouraged to purchase 'pay it forward' tickets that will enable individuals from under represented groups in tech to join us for the day.
For more information about the event, which is being held at Bournemouth and Poole College, click the button below.
Re-connect conference
Digital whizzes – Gillingham needs you!
We need people in Gillingham
with digital and technical experience to help get more of the town's residents online.
Dorset Council runs a volunteer digital champion programme across the county to give technical advice to anyone who needs it.
We're looking to increase the advice sessions we run in Gillingham and looking to recruit an extra digital champion to help.
To be a volunteer digital champion you need to be patient and kind.
A background in IT or digital would be ideal but anyone with a good all-round knowledge of software, website services, online services, social media, devices and apps are also very welcome to apply.
Full training and on-going support is provided for anyone who successfully applies to be digital champion. To apply, click the button below.
Apply to be a volunteer digital champion
Be cyber aware - this month's tips
The South West Cyber Resilience Centre is a police-led, Home Office funded team which exists to support small businesses with their cyber security for free.
As well as their no-cost guide to implementing basic cyber security measures, they offer a monthly newsletter to members of their community which sets out the latest things to look out for. Here’s three top tips for the month:
* Is your Wi-Fi under attack?
Hackers could be stealing your personal information right now without you even knowing it! Discover the shocking signs of a compromised network and essential steps to protect your data. Don't wait until it's too late. Read more…
* Protecting new hires from cyber threats
New hires often receive temporary passwords like "welcome" or "user," making them prime targets for hackers. Learn how to protect your business from these vulnerabilities and ensure your new employees start on a secure footing.! Read more…
* Look before you scan – the rising threat of QR code scams
QR codes are everywhere, making life easier but also providing a new avenue for scammers. Ever scanned a QR code to pay for parking or view a menu? Beware! Scammers can hijack these codes. Read more…
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