Trailblazing IT project visits the Isles of Scilly

Let’s Do IT!, an innovative Objective One project launched to help businesses develop computer and internet skills, is offering free short courses in St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly on Thursday 30th and Friday 31st May.

Let’s Do IT! has already helped nearly 1,000 businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. It is open to people in businesses in the food, drink, leisure and tourism, marine, environmental technology and digital sectors. Last autumn, Let’s Do IT! was named the best business support project in the South West region in a competition run by One 2 One.

Sue Milligan, who runs the Town House Guest House on St Mary’s, said: “Let’s Do IT! has made an incredible difference to my business. With its help I have been able to make much more use of the Internet and now a substantial number of our bookings come through our website.”

Let’s Do IT! has also helped Jane Lishman, who runs Morgelyn Guest House on St Mary’s. Jane said: “I was reluctant to get into computers at first but I do now really appreciate the time savings. I run the guest house on my own and time is very limited so being able to use email has been a huge advantage.”

Let’s Do IT! aims to boost the extent to which businesses can train employees “at any time and any place” by offering access, for example, to training delivered by CD ROM or via the Internet.

E-Learning – learning via the internet –- is undergoing explosive growth worldwide and is expected to have a huge impact in rural areas such as Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly over the next decade. Let’s Do IT! is at the forefront of developments in this field and is one of the largest projects of its kind in the UK.

Let's Do IT! has also launched a number of other initiatives, including offering training in the workplace and a popular series of workshops. These are in addition to free helpdesk support and a pool of computers available free of charge to businesses which would like to take part in training but do not have their own computer.

In the Isles of Scilly, Let’s Do IT! will be running free courses at the Masonic Hall, Hugh Town, St Mary’s on Thursday 30th and the morning of Friday 31st. Each course lasts approximately two hours and includes training in a wide range of subjects, including Web Design, Desktop Publishing, Sage, Databases and Mail Merge.

The team will also be running ‘drop in’ skills clinics and will be available at the Bar in Tregarthens Hotel at 7pm on Thursday 30th to discuss how the project may be able to help local businesses interested in knowing more.

Malcolm Wright, Director of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Learning Partnership, which manages the project, said: “The skills of our people in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are our biggest asset – and Let's Do IT! is a project which makes it unbelievably simple to sharpen skills in IT and the internet.”

Let’s Do IT! is funded by Objective One and the South West Regional Development Agency and is delivered by a countywide partnership in Cornwall which includes Cornwall College, Cornwall Enterprise, Cornwall Tourist Board, Penwith College, Business Link and Truro College.

To book a place on the courses in the Isles of Scilly, or further information about the project, call freephone 0800 072 1755.