New online training launched to give care workers more confidence in working with digital technology

Delivered in partnership between Digital Communities Wales, Digital Confidence, Health and Wellbeing and Social Care Wales, the ‘Your role and digital technology’ resource has been designed to help the social care and early years workforce better use digital technology to engage with and support the individuals in their care.

Available to all those working in social care and early years and childcare, the bilingual online course draws upon real-life examples and provides a range of practical solutions as to how digital technology can enhance a care setting.

Laura Phillips, Training Manager at Digital Communities Wales said:

“The social care workforce interacts daily with individuals set to gain a lot from adopting digital. From previous experience, we find that digital technology can provide real value to those receiving care if the benefits are made easily accessible. We’re delighted to partner with Social Care Wales to launch the ‘Your role and technology’ course, which sees the social care and early years workforce provided with the tools to better understand how technology can be used on a daily basis to support individuals receiving care. The hope is that the care workforce can take on the responsibility of learning about care enhancing tech, which will then see digital skills and know-how trickle down to individuals across Wales.”

Helping someone use digital can be as simple as showing them how to send a message, video call to keep in touch with friends and family, use smart speakers to set reminders, control their lighting and heating, or how showing them to catch up on TV programmes. The ‘Your role and digital technology course’ provides an introduction to digital, tailored to the care setting, which looks to spark an interest in using technology more often and in more agile ways to support individual wellbeing.

Gemma Halliday, who leads on digital learning at Social Care Wales, said: “This e-learning course is the second in a series of online training resources for the care sector that we have been developing with partners. And, in this case, we are delighted to have worked in partnership with Digital Communities Wales.

“With digital technology playing an ever-greater role in our daily lives, it is important we give social care and early years workers the knowledge and confidence they need to use it to best effect when providing care and support to others.

“In particular, we hope the knowledge from this course will give social care workers a greater awareness of how digital technology may be able to help them provide more of what matters most to those individuals they support so they can achieve the outcomes they want.”

If you work in social care or early years and childcare, you can access the course here.