Our network
The UK online centres network continues to be OCF’s key asset, allowing us to understand and reach into communities.
Centres are able to adapt to their own audiences, personalising engagement and progression. Through being part of the UK online centres network, centres gain access to the resources and products on Learn my way, funding updates and sector news, training opportunities, as well as free marketing materials and campaigns to extend and promote their work.
This year, we’ve also supported more than 300 partner centres with grant funding, including large scale Community Hub projects, and our three specialist networks.
The Mercy Foundation - a Centre partner
Established three years ago in Wandsworth, south-west London, the Mercy Foundation Centre supports a community with high levels of deprivation and unemployment.
Director Victoria Rodney says: “This community suffers from a great lack of privilege, low literacy and numeracy skills, and many people do not speak English as a first language, if at all. Many people feel forgotten by official channels so the trust we build as part of the community is what lets us help the people that need it.“
“Being a UK online centre is absolutely key to the work we do. It’s fantastic to feel part of a national cause that’s helping people all over the country and the brand gives us strength and credibility locally too. Although we support people with literacy skills and provide counselling, we have seen that digital skills make all the difference in helping people to a better future.
Opportunities Shop - an Into Work Specialist Centre
Supporting jobseekers in Merseyside gain the skills they need to get back into work, the Opportunities Shop is working in an area with some of the highest unemployment rates in the country.
Their constant challenge is making sure that jobseekers have the digital skills essential for looking for work. Manager Julie Rigby explains: “It doesn’t matter if you’re an office worker, a builder or a dental nurse, today everyone needs to know their way around a computer to find a new job. Almost all jobs are advertised online now, and you’ve got to be looking in the right places. Most vacancies want you to fill in an online application, or at least have an email address and an electronic CV.”
“Improving your computer skills and taking your job hunt online is the kick-start many people need to get back to work. Being part of the UK online centres network enhances the service we offer to jobseekers and the funding has allowed us to expand the centre and help even more people in a community that needs it more than most.”
The Hope Foundation - a Community Hub
The Hope Foundation is a lifeline for many in the Middlesbrough community it supports, offering services and training to the long term unemployed, refugees and asylum seekers, and those suffering with poor mental-health.
Sue Kearney, the Chief Executive explains: “Literacy, numeracy and digital skills are at the core of what we provide but we have a broader mission to empower people to help build a safe and strong community. Being part of the Community Hub project has allowed us to expand by establishing a second, permanent location. We’ve been able to start working with the local Traveller community, reaching a traditionally hard to engage with group.
“For The Hope Foundation, being part of the UK online centres network means being attached to a respected national organisation, and the branded posters and signs are great for promoting our services locally. We also really value Helen’s advocacy work too. It’s good to know that someone is fighting the corner for organisations like ours at a national and governmental level.”