The New Dublin 8 #techmums
Becoming a mother changes many things, including how you think of your career. After your first child, life changes drastically and woman are often left wondering about what they want to do for the rest of their lives. For mothers who have never gone on to further education and with the kids at school, learning about the computer and technological world their children have entered, becomes a necessary requirement.
Getting yourself skilled or getting to that dream job is not an impossible goal to achieve, especially nowadays in Ireland, where going back to college as a mature student, and learning something new is an everyday occurrence, in fact more people are doing than ones not doing it.
The Digital Hub has recently awarded 13 mothers certificates for completing The Digital Hub’s first #techmums programme. It is a 7 week course the Digital Hub is presenting to mothers in their Learning Studio. In 2012, Dr Sue Black who comes from the UK founded #techmums as part of a learning initiative to helps mothers overcome their fear for technology and also introduce them to the digital world.
At the ceremony held to reward the 13 mothers for successfully completing the #techmum programme, Dr Sue Black said, “I’m so delighted to be working with The Digital Hub to bring #techmum to Dublin. #techmum gives mums the opportunity to find out more about the amazing opportunities that technology offers along with hands on practical tech skills. Mums can then use this knowledge to help start up a business, get a better job, understand what their children are doing online, and so much more. #techmums rock!”
The mothers are given free workshops where they get to learn new skills, are taught confidence and are encouraged to develop ideas for a future in the digital era. The mothers also enjoy online support during the programme and there are teachers in the Studio to help them master the new skills they are being introduced to.
The subjects taught during the programme includes a variety of skills that no-one can live without in this day and age. Subjects include how to use the Internet, Social Media Skills, Online Security, Google Cloud and Google Drive, Python Programming and an Introduction to Applications and Web Design. The #techmums programme runs for seven weeks at a time and offers classes that are two and a half hours long, and it is absolutely free.
One of the #techmums who completed the programme, Yvonne Kealy, said about her time at The Digital Hub, “#techmums has been a fantastic learning experience for me, and is a great course for mothers to get to grips with the digital world.”
