G2G Communities CIC We make people more employable by making learning more enjoyable 
More than 70 per cent of UK employers unlikely to offer an interview to candidates without basic computer and internet skills
A BT award scheme providing free internet access to hundreds of community groups could help unemployed people back to work in Wales.
Latest figures show that more than 70 per cent of UK employers would be unlikely to offer an interview to a candidate if they did not have basic computer or internet skills.
But nearly one in six British adults have still never been online, which threatens to isolate them from an increasingly digital world.
The award scheme, BT Community Connections, is offering free internet access for a year to community groups and charities, which are getting people online for the first time and teaching them vital internet and computer skills. In the last two years BT has provided free internet connections to more than 380 community groups, which have given more than 6,900 new users the skills and confidence required to get online.
Applications for the awards should be made online before 5:30pm on Friday, September 7 at: www.bt.com/communityconnections.
An award winner from last year, G2G Communities in Rhyl, Wales, equips unemployed people with IT and internet skills, making them more attractive to prospective employers and allowing them to search for jobs online.
Moira-Ann Lockitt, managing director at G2G, said: “Nearly all employers require employees to have computer skills so IT is high on our agenda for helping people back into employment.”
Ann Beynon, BT’s director for Wales, said: “Connecting people is at the heart of BT and so it is important for us to address this digital divide. The internet can make a staggering difference to people’s lives whether it is helping them into employment or offering them new leisure and educational opportunities.
“We really want to encourage as many community groups as possible to apply for this award and discover the fantastic opportunities that the internet offers.”
The award scheme is part of BT’s Get IT Together programme, which aims to make the huge benefits of the internet available to as many people and organisations as possible.
