DEVELOPING DIGITAL LEADERS IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA
To take a look into the future of small business solutions our teens are the answer to most in-house technology challenges because they are digital natives! They’ve grown up with, are comfortable with and can efficiently use today’s technology.
When we educate our youth in real-time training scenarios we empower the business world and the community!
“Empowerment comes from the knowledge gained through experience” and it’s true when we say, “We don’t know what we don’t know” and the digital world for business professionals and new Entrepreneurs is a difficult road to navigate without a clear map and a true understanding of the basics.
2010
After 20 years as a trainer of computer and business skills to both small business and corporate industries, and a move to the far south coast of NSW, I was aware that the rapid changes approaching via Google and The Internet of Things was about the render some businesses, particularly those in regional Austalia who didn’t yet have access to the tools or networks available to those in the big cities. I could see the warnings from Google that everything was about to change and change in a big way. Everything would be affected, business websites would be rendered useless, and online sales would revolutionise the market but could devastate traditional shopping and small business. Marketing, digital communications and computing were about to create new opportunities for early adopters and those open to new opportunities. How would businesses know about and be prepared for what was coming and the effects these changes would ultimately have. This is called “Preparing for Digital Transformation” and is where to get started Click here to Book a Tech Talk or Enquire about our Digital Mentoring Programs.
I decided to develop a program, a program that had been in my thoughts for over 10 years, as I waited for technology to catch up with my digital vision. This program was for my own children as a way of developing employment or business opportunities for them and other youth on the south coast, (as digital natives) and business owners (not so tech savvy ones who I’d been training locally for over 10 years) that was aimed at developing digital leadership within my community and businesses themselves to develop a seamless process to enter the world of the “Internet of Things”. Our youth could learn about digital marketing, social media and get a new kind of job in new and emerging industries that would allow them to live locally, or work from anywhere in the world, doing something they had grown up with, and course give assistance to others in business transformation and adopt new technologies within. Together we would develop digital leaders in my local area who would collaboratively help others, who were unaware of the change and massive opportunities available to them via digital technologies and the internet.
The program is called the Digital Accelerator Program and its main aim is to educate and explain the changes caused by “Digital Disruption” and help business owners and professionals understand and adapt to these changes in particular what advantages there were to embracing new technologies in particular communications and social media. My training has almost always begun with the basics, in fact, I’ve been teaching people how to “Boot” or turn the computer on for over 25 years. The reality is that understanding the fundamentals of emerging technologies and transformation is crucial to transformation itself and essential to the bottom line as a failsafe to wasting funds when developing and planning a new website or running an ad on social media. These two items alone can be a very costly exercise for a business if not developed well and with understanding. I have seen businesses make these costly errors over and over. Knowing the fundamentals is the key to success.
The way the program works is to educate industry seniors on the basics of transformation so they can confidently delegate to that their internal tech/marketing team or educators who can carry out the work or upskill the team. If teams are not prepared for change “The Digital Accelerator Program” strategy and training needs analysis is conducted in the workplace to determine specific needs and outcomes. Once this has been completed and data compiled a training customised training program is developed for the team or individual.
2013 – 2017
This program has now helped over 30 local youth in 3 years gain early entry to university, find full times jobs, stay at school or start their own business. Together, we have shared these skills and implemented programs for hundreds of businesses both regionally and nationally to enable change and growth using the fundamentals for changes, Agile Methodologies, Digital Marketing, Social Media, Website Strategies, Cloud Computing, via Google and Microsoft, and many more.
Pilot program 2013 – Digital Accelerator Program – South Coast Business Owner (South Coast Electrical Services) Nicole Youth Intern assisting the business owner with Social Media Strategy and technology skills.
It is my way of translating today’s technology and digital media into simple English for students, employers and educators and to ensure a seamless and knowledgeable transition into the world of digital technologies. Find out more by calling 1300 366 802 or ask about how I can customise your in-house digital training programs and resource development for employees and leverage the powerful new technologies and digital media.