The Course
Digital Assistant Academy is a project enabling ambitious women from low-income backgrounds to generate additional, flexible income for themselves and their family around their existing commitments in a new media environment.
Over 10 weeks, the students learn the necessary skills to become a freelance Digital Assistant working from their own home with a laptop computer and internet. Training is 100% learner-focussed and is geared towards practical skills that they can put into use quickly and that are in demand in the market.
The programme looks at the three C’s for setting up a successful microbusiness: Capability, Confidence and Clients.
Capability:
Over 10 weeks, students learn the necessary skills to become freelance Digital Assistants so that they can work from their own home with a laptop computer and internet. The training takes a blended learning approach combining face to face sessions with learning online through video, reading and assignments.
Training is 100% learner-focussed and is geared towards practical skills that they can put into use quickly and that are in demand in the market.
Course curriculum includes:
- Introduction to the Internet
- The Digital Assistant Toolkit (Gmail and Google Apps, Dropbox, Evernote)
- Building websites with WordPress
- Email marketing with Mailchimp
- Social media set up and management (Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook)
- Blogging.
- Working with clients.
Confidence:
Through hearing from inspirational women speakers each week, and from ongoing support from Sinead and the other participants, students will gain increased self-confidence and self-esteem.
“Sinead delivers her courses with amazing energy and enthusiasm. I recently completed her Digital Assistant Academy and am bowled over by the amount of knowledge I now have in the area of social media management and wordpress websites. I feel so fortunate that I now have a fabulous opportunity to set up my own business as a digital assistant to help others find social media solutions for their businesses. I would highly recommend attending Sinead’s Digital Assistant Academy if you are keen to become expert in the field of social media.”
Colleen Beasley, recent graduate of the Academy.
Clients:
Participants will gain practical work experience by working directly with real client briefs during the 10 week course and will be trained how to find clients for themselves.
Successful graduates i.e. those who have completed 100% of the Modules and assignments satisfactorily, will be given the opportunity to partner with a client for a short virtual work experience placement at the end of the course so they can put their skills into practice in a safe and supported environment.
On completion of the work experience placement, graduates will also be introduced to potential clients for freelance work.
Students will also be encouraged to take a Better Off Calculation to find out the best way of moving from benefits to employment.