Meet a digital champion and BOOST apprentice
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Schiffer Santos became a digital champion by finding out about the scheme while at her apprenticeship with BOOST last year. Schiffer decided that she wanted to make a difference to her local community and to support people who are less able to get online.
Lack of online access has been linked to poorer health, increased loneliness and difficulty accessing jobs, education, and services. Digital champions play a key role in helping local people within their communities get online and access online resources and guides to get them the help they need.
She said: “The world is changing - everything is moving online, even small things like buying clothes and food shopping, right through to healthcare appointments and applying for jobs. In my community digital exclusion is a problem. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the internet. It’s about starting small and learning what’s important to you first.
“People come to BOOST for help accessing important services like their Universal Credit account online and it’s quite worrying that someone might not always be there to show them, so people need to be able to help themselves.
“A digital champion may not have all the answers, but what they are able to do is help people find answers themselves and build their confidence.”
As part of the scheme, they hold regular workshops on internet essentials such as accessing emails, signing into Universal Credit accounts and creating CVs.
If you are interested in becoming a digital champion, you can sign up on the BOOST website.