Over 100 staff from Queensland’s Central Highlands Regional Council have taken part in an internal Tech Savvy course, which aims to build employees basic technology and computer skills.
The program was initially rolled out to assist employees ahead of a new corporate software upgrade, but the ongoing benefits have been ten-fold.
Training Officer, Aleisha Catip, said, “Technology is a very daunting subject for some. The opportunity to impact our employees’ capability at work and in their personal lives, and inadvertently raise their confidence, has been a great motivation to continue to run the course.”
The sessions are delivered by council’s libraries and human resources teams, and cover introduction to computers, iPads, smartphones, internet, cyber safety and email.
Marty Herman from the Parks and Gardens team in Emerald took part and said while he was scared at first, he’s so glad he did it.
“I reckon it was great. I even sent an email to the ladies that held it at the library afterwards – I couldn’t do that before.
“It was a breeze and anyone thinking of doing the course should definitely do it.”
Herman actually got so much out of it, he went out and bought himself an iPad.
“I’m still learning heaps of new stuff,” he said.
“It’s all about confidence. You don’t have to be a computer whiz.”
Catip said overall the program had been a great success so far.
“Seeing the fear of technology subside, lots of questions being asked, participants assisting each other, and participants wanting to push themselves further out of their comfort zones has been a great indicator that the program is achieving its purpose.
“Hearing the buzz in the room when participants are learning new skills and realising their capabilities are improving is something wonderful to witness.”
A further 26 employees have already registered to attend the next course this month.
