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.
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.
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. Follow us on our social media channels to find out about our upcoming events and any new resources that we launch.
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