IT classes held to close the digital divide in Wolverhampton

Secret Angels is determined to close the digital divide which has increased the isolation of people who cannot afford wifi, computers or mobile phone data.

Mark Kitajewski-West, Secret Angels Digital Inclusion Team, said: “I have seen the effects the digital divide has on our local communities and particularly the elderly first hand, not just throughout the pandemic but beyond as the pace of ‘digitisation’ of everyday services has accelerated while the knowledge and skills of many in our community has lagged behind.

"Many common services like banking are increasingly going digital only, with over a quarter of UK adults having opened a digital only bank as of January 2022. Alarmingly one in five people in the UK struggle with essential digital life skills like communicating, searching for health information, and accessing government services online."

He added: "If that sounds like you then we want to help. It doesn’t matter what your knowledge or experience level is, we’ll help you bridge those gaps and build the most important thing when it comes to digital skills, self-confidence.”