HaKIT

HaKIT is our IT department delivering training and providing IT resources to the local community. We have developed two 'UK Online' IT training suites based at Hangleton Community Centre and St Richards Church and Community Centre. We are one of 5 winners of the national UK Online 'Outstanding Centre' award.

The HaKIT project now regularly supports and trains approximately 132 local residents a year and has over 1440 visits a year.

Some of the reasons for HaKIT's success include:

• The IT training suites are based within the local community centres; physically accessible, free and low cost, and training opportunities are delivered at times most suitable for local residents (including evenings, weekends, and crèche provision)
• Embedded within a wider community development and youth work project, courses and IT activities are developed in response to local need
• IT training is able to develop and increase local community groups capacities to deliver their activities
• Outreach activities are delivered within local community settings such as the library, sheltered housing schemes, local schools and parks, both supporting local community events and providing a first step for residents to getting involved in further training opportunities
• The provision of IT courses supports individual residents to gain employment skills eg CLAIT excel, Intro to Computers etc.
• Volunteering opportunities are provided for residents to gain further skills and experience
• We are able to introduce individual residents to wider community groups and activities. For example, one of our volunteer trainers (and resident) now chairs the 50+ Steering group and has developed a website for all 50+ activities and groups in Hangleton & Knoll
• We support a Learners Rep group comprised of learners from each of the HaKIT computer courses coming together to gather feedback about the courses and find out what learners would like to learn next.
• We provide a venue for other providers to deliver training, including Hove Park School who use the facilities for their ‘Excluded Base’.

Some of the activities include:

• Outreach sessions at schools and sheltered housing schemes and local community centres with laptops
• Extended schools programmes
• Regular free Computer Drop-ins for local residents to access the Internet
• Accreditated Training using CLAIT
• FirstSteps Training including using the keyboard and Intro to Computers
• Varied day workshops around specific office skills
• Family Learning Days
• Techno Days for young people
• Young People drop-in sessions
• Young People summer workshops
• 1:1 training with local resident
• Supporting the Local Newsletter groups
• Renting the room out to other local organisations for delivering training
• Using the Funderfinder Facility for groups to find funding
• Using the foreign Language Keyboards to support Education classes

If you want to read about some of the Project's successes from it's 25^th anniversary year, you can download our Project Achievements Document from 2008.

For more details and listings of all courses currently available, please contact us.