Digital exclusion: a call to action

Access to education should be a right, not a privilege.

Yet the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced inequalities in our society. New technologies are rapidly changing how businesses operate and, combined with the digital exclusion of some parts of our society, there’s a growing skills gap that threatens to leave many behind.

The risk of social exclusion

While there’s no doubt that the crisis has been tough for everyone, data from our education partner Teach First shows the interruption to learning has had the largest negative impact on those children from underprivileged backgrounds and low-income communities.

The move to remote schooling has magnified existing disparities across the UK with thousands of children unable to learn as they lack access to devices or reliable broadband.

Alongside this, it’s estimated that nearly 12 million people in the UK don’t have the essential digital skills needed for everyday life and work. And, as living in lockdown has clearly demonstrated, connection to the web is critical for health and wellbeing.

Digital skills connect people to social interaction, to education, to health services, to new or better jobs, to community infrastructure and government services, to consumer rights, and to democracy.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that there’s a clear correlation between digital exclusion and social exclusion.

Narrowing the digital divide: playing our part

As the pandemic accelerates change in how we live and work, we want to play our part in supporting people to access digital devices for virtual learning, as well as building the digital skills that will help start to close the digital divide.

This year we’ve pledged to donate 5,000 of our reconditioned laptops to charities, schools and families. 

We’ll prioritise 2,600 laptops to our partner schools and distribute the remaining devices to those most in need. These will include pupils at schools with an above average percentage of young people on free school meals and our charity partners. We’re also donating £8,000 to each of our 26 partner schools to help with their ongoing COVID-19 requirements - like expansion of digital learning, mental health and food provision. This is in addition to the ongoing tutoring and mentoring support we provide young people.

We’re also working with FutureDotNow, an industry coalition focused on improving the digital skills of working-age adults across the UK. Despite the scale of the digital divide, only 23% of the workforce have had any digital skills training from their employer. FutureDotNow is helping build collective action and drive change and we continue to provide them with pro bono support.

Get involved!

There is an urgent need to get computers and broadband into homes of children who are currently unable to access online lessons. While 5,000 laptops is a fraction of what’s required, that’s 5,000 additional people getting the critical digital access that they otherwise would not have had.

There’s an estimated 11 million unused devices in homes and offices across the UK. If all businesses contributed, and if individuals were able to donate any of their old devices, this could quickly go a huge way to helping close the digital divide and create parity for those most excluded – just when they need it most.

If you’d like to get involved, Vodafone has launched its Great British Tech Appeal, asking individuals to give their old mobile phones or tablets. Vodafone will then restore the factory settings and send the equipment to its new home (via their charity partner Barnardo’s) with six months' connectivity. 

And the Reboot Project has put together a helpful guide explaining how to collect, restore and rehome devices.

Throughout this pandemic, individuals and organisations have come together to make a positive difference in their local communities. And our current tech appeal is just one of many great examples of the impact we can make when we focus on what matters most.