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Getting Started in Corporate Venues

Getting Started - Switching Older People On To New Technologies

Age Action is a charity which promotes positive ageing and better policies and services for older people. Working with, and on behalf of older people, we aim to make Ireland the best place in the world in which to grow older.

Age Action’s award winning Getting Started programme helps older people to embrace new technologies. Since 2006, our volunteer tutors have trained over 32,000 older people (aged 55 and over) across Ireland to use the internet, email, tablets, iPads and mobile phones – opening up whole new worlds and opportunities for them. 

Get involved - Make a real difference to older people’s lives!

By partnering with the Getting Started programme you can help us to continue providing learning opportunities for older people, bridge the digital divide, beat exclusion and isolation and increase independence and equality for older people across Ireland.  

How the programme works

Age Action runs beginners’ computer classes for older people in venues such as libraries, family resource centres and sheltered housing across Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kildare, Carlow, Wicklow, Monaghan, Louth, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo, Kilkenny and Waterford.

Most of our classes run during the daytime from Monday to Friday. All our tutors are volunteers and work one to one with older learners in small class groups.

The course normally runs for 2 hours once a week for 5 weeks or 1 ½ hours a week for 7 weeks. Volunteers work, where possible, with the same learner each week for the duration of the course. We ask volunteers to commit to 10 hours initially and volunteers are welcome to continue to volunteer with us after their first course is complete.

To run an in-house programme is also an option. What is required is a small training room, WiFi, relatively good access via public transport and willing volunteers!

The following companies have supported our programme (either in-house or externally in our local venues) – Google, HP, IBM, Irish Life, Citi Bank, Ulster Bank, Lionbridge, Deloitte, Salesforce, Dropbox, Eir, Phorest, Medtronic, Paypal, VMware, EMC, Dell Software, Eli Lilly, Qualcomm, MSD Brinny and Cisco.

Classes are for older people with little or no computer experience and volunteers just need to have basic IT skills, an interest in working with older people, patience and a sense of humour. Volunteers will receive training from Age Action’s project officers before they start to tutor.

The training takes approximately one hour and ongoing support will be available to volunteers from the project officer. Age Action has specially designed training material for both volunteers and participants to follow. 

Benefits for Older People

  • Overcoming their fear of technology
  • Confidence in using the internet helps older people stay active, healthy and less isolated
  • Information technology offers opportunities to connect, communicate and stay in touch with family and friends.
  • The internet offers greater consumer choice, convenience and savings for older people

Benefits for Partners

  • Partnership on a successful and well-established, award-winning programme
  • Volunteering opportunities for employees at a time that is convenient for them
  • Opportunity to advertise and offer the training to older family members of employees

Meet some of our corporate volunteers and learners

It's time to Get Started!

Join some great companies!

Some of the companies where employees have volunteered as tutors with Age Action's Getting Started programme:

Age Action | Getting Started Computer Training Corporate Partners

View from a Corporate Partner:

"Getting Started was exactly the type of programme we were looking for when an IBM employee who had been volunteering as a Getting Started tutor proposed the idea of an in-house programme.

"At IBM we encourage skills-based volunteering and we now have over 100 employees volunteering each week at two of our Dublin sites and are about to launch another programme at our site in Galway. The IBM volunteers enjoy the programme both from a social and skills-sharing perspective and the students seem to too, so it's a win-win!"

- Deirdre Kennedy, Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, IBM

"The Age Action Getting Started classes have been a wonderful addition to Deloitte’s CR programme. We host the classes in the Deloitte offices which makes it easy for the volunteers from Deloitte to get involved and the city centre location suits the learners that are signed up to the programme.

"I think the learners enjoy the buzz of coming into the office environment for the classes and the other staff in the firm and clients have asked interestedly about the volunteer programme, which shows a different element of our business. 

"It is wonderful to see the friendships between the tutor and learner grow over the course of the programme and to see the confidence in the learners build over the few weeks. We are delighted with our partnership with Age Action on this initiative."

- Claire Bergin, Corporate Responsibility Manager, Deloitte 

Quotes from learners and volunteers:

"I have never done anything like this before and I really enjoyed it. I looked forward to the class each week and It was really rewarding to see my student progress." - Volunteer

"I found the course very good, I had a great tutor and I have to say I underestimated myself a lot, never though I could do this and I am so pleased. I have achieved a lot here and thank you so much. I can now email my sister in Canada” - Learner

"There was more to teaching - my student than merely explaining things to her. Much like the students, I looked forward to tea breaks to chat with among the group and to learn about her and all the other students and volunteers. I came away from every class with new knowledge, greater confidence, and a lighter heart." - Volunteer

"I felt this course and tuition was terrific. My tutor was very patient and very helpful. The training model used on the programme was excellent. I earned very useful skills and would be very keen to recommend it. I only just got broadband at home. There will be no stopping me once set up I don’t think it could be improved on. I found the course very useful. I was able to ask for help with difficulties I had with my computer skills." - Learner

How to get your workplace involved!

There are more than 600,000 people aged over 65 in Ireland but less than 25 per cent of this age group use the internet. Working together, we can change this.

Fill out our form and one of our Getting Started team will be in touch about bringing the programme to your company!

For more information please contact:

Dublin: gettingstarted@ageaction.ie or telephone 01 475 6989

Cork:  gettingstartedcork@ageaction.ie or telephone 021 206 7399 

Galway: gettingstartedgalway@ageaction.ie or telephone 091 527831

Become a Partner

Are you a School or Corporate Business and interested in hosting Getting Started classes in your location?