Facebook’s ‘extraordinary’ digital skills training comes to Wrexham Glyndwr

Wrexham Glyndwr University’s Enhancing Entrepreneurship team has partnered with UK digital skills training provider The Extraordinary Club to run a series of Facebook-backed workshops for the institution’s students, staff and industry partners.

The training programme is part of a Europe-wide series of training events led by Facebook, with The Extraordinary Club serving as the social media giant’s biggest training providers in the UK. 

Participants include Glyndwyr staff, students and faculty, as well as employees of the university’s industry partner companies, who were shown a series of hints, tips and tricks to improve their digital skills. 

The workshops kicked off following a conversation between Glyndwyr senior lecturer in creative industries Graeme Park and Extraordinary Club co-founder Dawn Paine. 

Park brought Extraordinary Club together with the university’s Enhancing Entrepreneurship team after realising the potential behind the digital skills training sessions. 

“When I met with Dawn earlier in the year I knew her workshops would be worth bringing to our university,” Park said in a Deeside report.

“The Digital Skills sessions have supported my creative industries students in their studies at Glyndwr and cover a variety of opportunities to help unlock potential future employment.”

Extraordinary Club marketing executive Katie May said it is important to upskill and embrace a new digital era, especially amidst the fact-paced digitisation of the working world. 

According to the European Commission, 40 percent of European companies are currently experiencing skills shortages with only 57 percent of European university and school graduates having the confidence that their education has armed them with the right skills for their future careers. 

“The digital skills sessions offer anyone 16 or older an insight into all the different work and life hacks you can access, making sure you’re being the most productive you can be,” added May. 

“Whether you are currently studying at college or university or are already in a role within a business, the Facebook Digital Skills Programme offers a mixture of tips, tricks and tools alongside gaining some hard and soft skills that can be applied to any aspect of their careers.” 

“At Wrexham Glyndwr University we are always looking at innovative ways to offer further skills training for our staff, students and industry partners. Working in collaboration across our academic and operational team, with organisations such as The Extraordinary Club, enables us to work collectively to endorse digital skills and provide additional interactive sessions,” said Glyndwr University Enterprise and Innovation development officer Charlotte Oram-Gettings. 

“We look forward to embracing our continued partnership with both The Extraordinary Club and many of our other partners, to sustain and progress our drive for innovation and inclusivity.”

These digital skills workshops are part of Facebook’s Digital Skills Training UK which operates in collaboration with in-country partners such as The Extraordinary Club in six countries across Europe. 

The social media company aims to deliver these skills training programmes to 75,000 18 to 30-year-olds within the region.