Sam Best was researching jobs and considering his future when he came across the Japanese philosophy of ‘ikigai’, said to be the secret to a joyful life.
The 19-year-old found that the idea was to fulfil four categories: do what you love, do what the world needs, do what you are good at and do what you can be paid for. If all those overlap, your life should have meaning.
He is still seeking his long-term career path but, in the meantime, he is ticking all those boxes by working at non-profit TechResort, helping people get online and connect with the world.
The organisation is based in Cavendish Place, just a few metres from the scenic seafront and colourful carpet gardens. As we talk, the sun streams through the windows and the 3D printers whir away, producing name badges.
Yet it is a neighbourhood which is rated as one of the 10% most deprived in the country.
TechResort is celebrating its tenth birthday this year, having helped hundreds of people learn coding, receive free, refurbished phones and laptops, and get online.
A key report published in June this year by the House of Lords communications and digital committee
into digital exclusion revealed that 2.4 million adults are unable to open an internet browser or use a computer mouse.
It also said that five million workers were likely to be “acutely under-skilled in basic digital skills” by 2030 and that overall digital skills shortages cost the UK £63 billion annually.
How TechResort started
The community interest company mainly runs digital drop-in sessions across East Sussex, coding clubs for young people, offers work experience to teenagers and refurbishes donated devices.
TechResort Eastbourne was started in 2013 by digital manager Will Callaghan, initially focusing solely on young people and running code clubs.
Will, 51, who runs Friendly Digital in Eastbourne, recognised that many young people left the town because much of the local economy is reliant on retail and tourism which often comprise seasonal and relatively low-paid work.
He wanted to help create a prosperous economy which would tempt them back by offering work experience and training available to everyone.
“Projects like TechResort can offer people the skills to start their own business and change how this town works,” he said.
“We are starting to see that we have made a difference – there are people who had not thought of going into the digital industry who now are. We are really pleased with what we have achieved.
“There is more to do,” he said, mindful of the fact that 20% of people in the UK do not have basic digital skills.
Then after Brexit, TechResort also started helping EU citizens who had lived in the UK long term with online applications to gain ‘settled status’.
And when Covid lockdowns prompted online working and communication, the digital divide became more apparent as not everyone could access the internet.
Miles Berkley, one of the directors, said: “We really shifted the focus to digital inclusion work but retained the youth element.
“A high proportion of the population in Devonshire ward is transient with a lot of HMOs [houses of multiple occupation] and asylum seekers housed in hotels.”
The team transforming people’s lives
There are 11 people employed in the team to work varying hours at TechResort.
Sam, originally from Crowborough, started at the organisation two years ago for work experience while studying games development and programming at East Sussex College in Lewes.
“I just stayed because I enjoy it – it’s a great place to be. I also really enjoy the feeling of doing something for other people,” he said.
Sean Firth, 22, has been the operations co-ordinator for the last 18 months. He went to Cavendish School, has a First Class degree in English and History from Southampton University and first came to TechResort as a 13-year-old in the coding club.
He believes digital inclusion is not particularly technical. “A lot of it is about talking to people,” he said. Much of his time is spent pursuing funding bids, a continual process to keep the show on the road.
Sean said: “I enjoy the fact that it is making a difference: you hand over a refurbished phone to someone and see a smile on their face. As cheesy as it sounds, it makes a real difference to these people.”
Luke Brierley, 19, works alongside Sam refurbishing phones and laptops. He was home educated in Eastbourne and has mostly taught himself the tech skills required.
He is also in the first year of a six-year part-time computing and IT degree course with the Open University.
Luke first came to TechResort in the children’s coding club about ten years ago and had a great time.
Now he helps those who can’t afford a phone or laptop: “It’s great because a lot of people are so happy to have the device,” he said.
Chris Moth, 35, has worked at TechResort for seven years and is infrastructure co-ordinator, looking after the equipment and networking.
The best thing for him is helping people “I have always had an interest in doing this – my mum has worked in the charity sector,” he said.
Fiona Davison-Trickett, 29, who studied for a digital media design degree from Brighton University via East Sussex College, has been at TechResort for seven years.
She takes care of drop-in sessions and coding clubs for children over eight and for teenagers.
“They coding sessions are great, but they can be quite chaotic! I like it here because it’s different all the time and it’s very inclusive. Also, I’m learning all the time,” she said.
Fiona has noticed that it is often tiny things that people become frustrated with that they can’t achieve online. “But we see how much their situation is helped when they can do what they couldn’t do before,” she added.
How it works
TechResort takes referrals for people eligible to receive refurbished devices from various places such as the food bank, Citizens’ Advice Bureau, the Sanctuary Café and Age UK.
Last winter, there were 50 people on their waiting list but now there are just a handful thanks to donations and the work of the team wiping and preparing the phones and laptops to be reused.
Drop-in sessions are run every week in Eastbourne, Lewes, Peacehaven, Newhaven and Bexhill, many of them attended by older people learning digital skills.
It also works closely with schools, colleges and businesses to offer work experience placements.
Funding is a constant application process, coming from various sources including the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund aimed at levelling up living standards across the country.
Miles is keen to emphasise that much of the work is about the tech sector giving back to the community.
In the case of Eastbourne, many jobs related to tourism are precarious, low paid and seasonal. He is clear about the mission of TechResort when it comes to providing work experience for young people: “We want to see a good, digital-based industry here and a future for the town.”
He and his four fellow directors, all of whom are volunteers, have digital backgrounds and wider industry experience.
Miles has worked for large digital companies such as Google, where he produced detailed designs for sustainable systems at its new headquarters near King’s Cross.
“We have profound, world-class industry knowledge and backgrounds coming from working outside Eastbourne,” he added.
The next ten years will be busy as TechResort seeks to make sure no one is excluded from the digital skills needed for everyday life – and that Eastbourne is put firmly on the ‘digital map’.
Comments are welcome. They are pre-moderated and may be edited for clarity and to avoid potential libel.
:: This is a not-for-profit news website and I want to keep it free to read. If you can afford to do so, please donate. A monthly membership would be fantastic. Thank you.
