Fast track to IT (FIT)
Ireland
FIT’s mission is to promote an inclusive Smart Economy by creating a fast track to marketable technical ICT skills for …
Good practice
Imported
★ 80
★ 76
★ 72
★ 72
Black Country Click Start
United Kingdom · West Bromwich · Local · See the United Kingdom profile
Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 97% 32/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice
The Black Country Click Start project seeks to provide wraparound support to improve digital and financial inclusion. The project specifically targets social housing tenants who will be affected by the rollout of Universal Credit and other aspects of welfare reform, with clear pr
Details
- Maturity
- Established
- Promoter
- WHG - Walsall Housing Group — website
- Type
- Service
- Status
- Ongoing
- Target groups
- Unemployed and those facing social problems
- Period
- 2017-01-01 – 2022-09-29
- Keywords
- access, confidence, employment, connection, budgeting
Context
Delivered under the Building Better Opportunities programme (co-funded by the European Social Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund), tackling worklessness and social exclusion across the Black Country (Dudley, Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Bromwich). Targets social housing tenants affected by the rollout of Universal Credit and other welfare reforms.
Objectives
Improve digital and financial inclusion with clear progression routes into skills provision and employment.
Activities
Minimum of eight sessions covering computer/mobile device use, online basics, online safety, setting up email, safe social media use, online shopping/comparison sites, applying for jobs and volunteering, online banking and money management, and access to health services and benefits/public services; delivered jointly by whg and Accord Group with four local partners (Sandwell Citizens Advice Bureau, Black Country Housing Group, Walsall College, Wolverhampton Homes).
Results
No formal evaluation is reported ('Evaluation: No'); the source states that individuals are expected to increase digital and online confidence, with some progression into further education, training and job searching — a stated aim rather than a measured outcome.
Conclusions
One of four projects delivered within the Building Better Opportunities programme across the Black Country, illustrating a multi-partner wraparound model combining digital and financial inclusion support.
Implementation
- Indicative cost
- Medium (€50k–€500k) — ESF- and National Lottery Community Fund-co-financed multi-partner delivery (whg, Accord Group and four further local partners); no budget figure given in source.
- Time to results
- Long (> 3 years) — Delivered from 2017 to 2022 (practice record end date 2022-09-29) with a minimum eight-session curriculum per participant.
- Staffing & skills
- whg (Walsall Housing Group) and Accord Group as joint leads, Four local delivery partners: Sandwell Citizens Advice Bureau, Black Country Housing Group, Walsall College, Wolverhampton Homes
Conditions for success
- Co-financing from ESF and The National Lottery Community Fund
- Multi-partner delivery network spanning housing, advice and further-education providers
- Clear, structured minimum eight-session curriculum
Common failure modes
- No formal evaluation reported, limiting evidence of real progression outcomes
- Time-limited EU/Lottery co-funding cycle (practice record shows an end date of 2022-09-29) creates sustainability risk beyond the funded period
Where it fits
- Governance type
- housing association / third-sector consortium, EU and Lottery co-funded
- Scale
- sub-regional (Black Country boroughs)
- Income level
- high-income
Commonly funded by
ESF+ — European Social Fund Plus
Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.
Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.
Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
- MEDICI / Digital Inclusion Atlas — accessed 2026-06-14
- Practice website — accessed 2026-06-14
- Information source — accessed 2026-06-14
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