Digital Skills Training for older people and disabled adults

AbilityNet and telecommunications company BT Group are working in partnership to help improve the digital skills of older and digitally excluded people across the UK.

Are you a disabled adult, or an older person*, who could benefit from digital skills training? Or do you work for a charity or organisation that supports older or disabled people?

Older woman with grey hair and bald man sitting at computer chattingFree digital skills support areas:

AbilityNet's friendly team of Digital Skills trainers can provide free digital skills training to support disabled adults and people *aged 65+ years in the following geographical areas:

  • Glasgow, Edinburgh and the Scottish Central Belt
  • Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham and Hartlepool
  • Birmingham and the West Midlands
  • Greater London and London city
  • Brighton & Hove and Sussex
  • Belfast and surrounding areas

Our disability specialist, Matthew Quarless, is also offering free digital skills training for disabled adults and over 65s, covering areas from Birmingham through to North London.

Free digital skills support PLUS free devices areas:

In some areas we are able to offer both free digital skills training to support disabled adults and people *aged 55+ years PLUS the option to apply for a free digital tablet. These options are available in:

  • Cheshire, North Wales and South West Wales
  • Cardiff, Swansea and the Brecons area
  • Herefordshire
  • North Devon
  • South Devon
  • Portishead, Bridgwater, Exeter and Plymouth areas
  • Worcestershire
  • Essex
  • Inverness 
  • Ayr, Irvine, Kilmarnock 
  • North Glasgow and Stirling 

Don’t have a device? Apply for a free tablet 

AbilityNet can supply tablet devices free of charge to people who live in the areas listed below, both to people who don’t yet own a device to help them get online, or to those with an old device that may have poor connectivity. Our trainers will help with set up and getting started.  

If you are interested in receiving a device, please complete one of the forms linked below and we’ll get back to you.   

If you're from an organisation that could help us distribute devices to your clients or staff in need, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact: digitalskills@abilitynet.org.uk 

Please note, free devices are only available to people over 55 or disabled adults over 18 in the following areas: Cheshire, North Wales and South West Wales, Cardiff, Swansea and the Brecons area, Herefordshire, North Devon, Portishead, Bridgwater, Exeter and Plymouth areas, Worcestershire, Essex, Inverness, Ayr, Irvine, Kilmarnock, North Glasgow and Stirling.

Johnny Ball with laptop smilingFollowing recent research which shows that nearly half of over 65s struggle to complete digital admin without help, TV broadcasting legend, Johnny Ball (pictured), has been encouraging his generation to sign up to attend these free digital skills sessions.
Coming up: Join us for a free webinar about How to access TV, films, music and podcasts online: Wednesday 23 September 2026
Need help learning about how to avoid digital scams? Watch back our webinar of valuable tips for How to stay safer online

Trainers can run the following sessions, or build something bespoke for your group or for an individual:

  • An Introduction to Tech
  • An Introduction to the Internet
  • Getting to know your Smartphone or Tablet
  • Staying Safer Online
  • Getting started with Email
  • Using Social Media, e.g. Facebook
  • Online entertainment, e.g. watching TV online
  • How to access Public Services e.g. Gov.UK
  • Downloading Apps: Android
  • Downloading Apps: Apple
  • How to make a video call
  • How to manage your health online
  • How to bank online
  • How to shop online
  • Using a computer for documents

We can also provide a Factsheet and Jargon Buster alongside the sessions.

You might also be interested in reading BT's set of digital skills for Seniors downloadable factsheets.

You can choose to have group sessions or one-to-one sessions in a communal space or at home.

Request a training session

You can request a training session by using one of the forms linked below. 

Or you can:

Apply for a training session

Please ensure you are based in the following areas (or within a 20 mile radius) before you continue: London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Brighton & Hove, Newcastle, Cheshire, North Wales and South West Wales, Cardiff, Swansea and the Brecons, Belfast, Herefordshire, North Devon, Portishead, Bridgwater, Exeter, Plymouth, Worcestershire, Essex, Inverness, Ayr, Irvine, Kilmarnock, North Glasgow, Stirling, and surrounding areas.

Apply for group training

Apply for individual training

 

"A lovely organisation. I've had their help in the past and they explain things in terms we 'oldies' can understand." - attendee of digital skills session
"The feedback was amazing from all the attendees and everyone learnt some top new tips" - organiser for group who received digital skills training in Birmingham
"Since I started to learn how to use the iPad I have been constantly worried about safety, so I was glad to learn how to avoid scams. I feel a lot safer now, I will remain cautious but will enjoy my day-to-day use of my iPad a little bit more" - attendee of scam awareness session in Wales
"Excellent teaching. A pleasure to learn in this atmosphere." - Learner in Stoke and Preston area
"I would like to thank AbilityNet for these fantastic seminars.  I have learned so much over the last 2 weeks, received help with my phone and tablet, and been given reassurance about AI (of which I was fearful)." - learner in Scotland 
"The trainer was approachable and very patient with everyone who attended the session. Thank you so much, he brought great value to each session." - learner in Birmingham

 

Default content