About the Digital Bees

Who are we?

Values and ethics

Projects we're proud of

Our partners

Who are we, and what's our mission?

We're the Digital Bees, a network that enables colleagues from across The Co-operative Bank to volunteer and use their digital knowledge for good.

Our mission is to empower communities to become more digitally confident.

This involves working with a number of educational and community-based organisations to encourage more people to engage with the digital world.

Whether it's through educating students about digital careers, running digital skill sessions for local residents, or creating useful online resources, we're open to helping the community in any way that we can.

If you think that the Digital Bees can support you or your organisation, please get in touch.

How did the Digital Bees begin?

In 2019, colleagues from the Bank's Digital and Technology departments realised there was a skills gap in the digital space. Recruitment was proving tricky, partly because young people had little awareness of the digital careers that were available to them.

After speaking with students, it was revealed that many thought they had to be really tech-savvy, good at coding or have a technical background to get into a digital role. The interest was there, but there wasn't any clear route or support to help students enter the digital world.

At this point, the Digital Bees was born. Starting with just a few colleagues, our network began building relationships with a number of organisations such as schools, councils, small businesses and charities. This enabled us to begin offering careers advice to students, as well as sharing our digital skills and knowledge with the wider community.

Our values and ethics

Step up

Do the right thing

Stronger together

Take responsibility

Here at The Co-operative Bank, taking an ethical approach is just how we do things. For the Digital Bees, this includes supporting the local community and inspiring the next generation through skill-sharing initiatives.

We believe that by stepping up, doing the right thing, and taking responsibility, we are stronger together.

Learn more about our values and ethics

Projects we're proud of

Working with local schools, colleges and universities

Sharing our knowledge and informing young people across the North West about the different careers that digital has to offer is a big part of what we do.

For example, we've previously visited:

Secondary schools, where we talked about our own careers to inspire students to explore digital and technology-based pathways
Manchester Metropolitan University where we ran a creative CV competition, offering the winners one-on-one training sessions with our very own content designers!

Collaborating with digital networks and local charities

Over the years we’ve also partnered with various networks and charities to promote digital inclusion and upskilling.

Some organisations we work with include:

SheCodes and the Digital Her network to empower girls and teach them about roles in digital
DigiKnow Stockport, who our pop-up van team have previously paired up with to support members of the public wanting to get online
Business in the Community, helping people prepare for job interviews.

This is just a sample of what we’ve been up to, and we have plenty more happening this year. Follow us on our social media channels to find out about our upcoming events and any new resources that we launch.

If there are any events you think the Digital Bees could support with, make sure to get in touch.