Kiama Community College is offering a complimentary training and support service for local businesses and community organisations, so that they can successfully use technology to work remotely, or provide services to members and clients during this period of change.

“The Community College has been assisting locals to stay abreast in new digital technologies for over 30 years,”says CEO Helen Zwicker.

“Our community needs this more than ever right now, so we are stepping up by providing this free service.

“Social distancing is going to be around for some time, and we want to help organisations, large and small, to find a new way to operate.

“People need to stay connected and continue their paid or voluntary work in the most effective way possible.

“We don’t want them to feel alone during this time, but to know they have the support of local experts from the College.”

Zoom is just one of the online tools that may be useful at this time, enabling regular meetings to be held.

“On top of the free training we offer for this, we can work with the group organiser or business owner to help them make the most of their meetings.”

For those seniors still looking to improve their online skills as individuals, Kiama Community College is providing another round of free classes, starting soon, so they can learn to communicate with friends and family; or become more comfortable shopping for groceries and other items online.

The College has also received a lot of enquiries about online courses from people seeking to enhance their job skills or develop new hobbies at a time when employment or access to usual activities is scarce.

“We have developed a series of courses that will be conducted on Zoom to enable people to keep growing in a meaningful way,” says Ms Zwicker.

“Programs are diverse and include courses such as Microsoft Excel and MYOB on the job skills side of the equation, as well as French, Spanish, harmonica and photography classes.”

To support the community, these courses are either free or heavily subsidised until June 30.

Details: More info about courses can be found at http://www.kcc.nsw.edu.au or by calling 4232 1050.