This week we delivered the first session of our new course, Applying for Jobs in a Digital World. Funded by CDL Software and delivered at our Starting Point Learning Hub in Woodley, we had five learners join us, laptops ready, plans made… and then, almost immediately, everything we had carefully prepared went out the window.

It was one of those sessions. The kind where everyday barriers show up in spades. The things that we call digital knots. Forgotten passwords to email accounts linked to phone number discarded a long time ago. The stuff where the reality of people’s lives doesn’t fit neatly into a session plan or a timetable. And while it was frustrating at times, it was also an important reminder of why we do this work in the first place.

Instead of powering through the content, we paused. We listened.

Learners shared what had been happening in their lives, stories of recent bereavement, of supporting family members through hospital stays, of carrying responsibilities that don’t disappear just because it’s “course time”. These moments matter. You can’t learn, focus, or plan for the future when you’re weighed down by the present, and acknowledging that felt far more important than sticking rigidly to our agenda.

One learner had some really positive news to share. Through the Flexible Support Fund, he had been able to get a laptop a huge step forward and he was genuinely excited to start using it to search and apply for jobs. But when it came time to log into his email account on the new device, things didn’t go smoothly. Despite everyone’s best efforts, it became clear that this was going to need more time than we had available in the session. Rather than rush it, we agreed he’ll return to a drop-in session where we can give him the focused, one-to-one support he deserves.

Meanwhile, one of our Digital Champions, Kevin, was quietly doing what he does best. Drawing on his own experience of coming through our employment courses and learning job searching and AI skills himself, Kevin supported another learner to think differently about their options. Together they explored a completely new avenue that the learner hadn’t previously considered.

At the end of the session, when we checked in, the learner said:

“I’d never even thought about NHS jobs, I was just a bit stuck looking at the same stuff over and over.”

That moment alone made the session worthwhile.

This wasn’t the session we had planned, not by a long shot. But it was a powerful reminder that the people we support often need individual, flexible help. It’s also a reminder of just how vital our Digital Champions are. Quite simply, we couldn’t run our sessions without them.

So for the rest of February, we’re going back to basics. We’ll be making sure learners have the strongest possible starting point for their digital skills journey, from accessing their accounts independently to building confidence with the tools they’ll need to search and apply for work in the digital world we live in today.

Sometimes progress doesn’t look like ticking off a lesson plan. Sometimes it looks like listening, problem-solving, and meeting people exactly where they are. And that’s a starting point we’re proud of.