A Digital Way to

Empowering people into work and self-employment with 3DNovations

a Brighter Future

Presenting a unique Digital Highway to help your organisation lead disabled people and others with complex needs closer to employment...

t:0208 123 4708

AUTUS logo

A Common Misconception...

You'll know only too well that, these days, with the problem of budget and staff cuts and rapidly changing job roles in an unstable economy, helping people into work can be

difficult for even the best prepared applicant.

It can be twice as tough for people with disabilities or work limiting conditions such as Autism, who can be excluded socially and economically, leading to lack of confidence and low self-esteem. It can be hard for them to attend work programmes and job centres to get the help they need to secure employment or set up their own business.

This feeds the negative and inaccurate social stereotype that people with disabilities or complex needs are difficult to work with and have little to offer, leaving many employers with concerns about recruiting such employees and apprentices into their business.

The reality is that there are many people with work limiting conditions who have talent and ability, all looking for that one avenue into work, where, with the right attitude and support, they can make a valuable contribution.

The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) reports that by hiring and supporting disabled people on apprenticeships, employers can greatly widen the pool of high quality applicants that are open to them.

Studies also show that disabled consumers tend to choose the services of a business that employs disabled people, so by creating a workforce that better reflects the range of customers in the market, these businesses can benefit from a wider consumer base.

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Tapping Overlooked Potential...

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There are over 10 million disabled people in the UK, with over half being of working age. That's a vast pool of untapped ability!

Less than 15% of people with an Autistic Spectrum Condition are in full-time employment, and only 50% of people with other disabilities. That’s compared with almost 72% employment in the general population. It's high time to improve these figures...

Research shows that helping people with disabilities into work can enable employers to tap into a ready market of over 10 million people with an annual spending power of £80 billion. This - and the fact that the average apprenticeship increases business productivity by £214 per week through lower prices, increased profits and improved products - is evidence that hiring disabled apprentices, while being the right thing to do, also makes sound business sense.

The lack of specialist provision for long-term unemployed people who have health difficulties or complex needs provides little incentive for them to participate in work-related programmes ...

A more effective way is needed to fight social isolation, boost confidence, improve literacy, numeracy and IT skills - vital in an increasingly information-based job market.

A way that works for the individual, the programme provider and any potential employer...

A New Choice in Training...

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By using 3DNovations courses like Digital Highways, you'll provide specialist training and skills development, easily accessed online, from your premises or remotely, designed

specifically for people with complex needs. Our online training courses are tailored to give people a safe virtual environment to develop their vocational and life skills, self-esteem, and build their confidence and readiness for work. Our virtual worlds mirror the real world, and present a non-threatening space where people can interact with digital representations of themselves called avatars. You’ll be giving them the freedom to build their confidence by creating their own worlds and sharing them with others.

Our mentors, trainers and assessors will support participants through an innovative and highly motivational skills development programme that will encourage them to consider their goals and work towards progression. Participants will develop relevant skills for employment, including working to objectives, team work, project planning, presentation, interviewing and meeting skills, self reflection, evaluation and more. With our nationally accredited courses, people are equipped with a solid foundation and evidence for further progression towards the job market.

Your organisation will offer specialist training right at your premises, offering extra incentives for people to attend your personal provision sessions. People can also participate remotely from home, with internet access, or from one of our digital access-points - a more social solution with physical support and supervision by trained tutors.

Over the next few pages, we'll present our Digital Highways course and answer a few of your

questions. When you’re ready to find out more, just give us a call on 0208 123 4708 or email us at info@hao2.eu

presenting

Digital Highways

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Digital Highways, one of our CBI/Nominet Trust award-winning programmes, is designed to reduce barriers to employment faced by people with work-limiting conditions, by

providing an accredited, accessible skills development and confidence building course.

The programme, platform and approach are perfect for those who lack the confidence, communication skills and self-esteem to engage with traditional training provision. Participants leave the course with a strong basis in participative and reflective learning, achieve accredited learning in work-related areas, and become motivated towards personal and professional development.

Participants' enthusiasm and motivation are maintained through engaging virtual learning environments, situation-based learning and a unique, personalised approach. The online presence means that people with confidence issues are more willing to take part from a place where they feel safe, in a way that makes them feel empowered and supported...

Digital Highways is delivered by qualified and experienced personnel with backgrounds in teaching (including special educational needs), training, assessing, programming, graphic design, 3D animation/modelling and gaming... a wide range of expertise to meet the diverse needs of learners.

This highly personalised course runs for approximately 3 to 6 months, with learners working towards a City & Guilds Certificate or Award in Employability & Personal Development available at NVQ Levels 1 and 2 (other accredited qualifications from Levels 1 to 3 are also available). Learners have a choice of mandatory and optional units which are covered in group and one-to-one sessions as well as scenario-based learning and role play.

Learning is conducted through tutorials to small groups and on a one-to-one basis with a mix of interactive workshops, engaging 3D scenarios, application activities and personal IT projects. Learners have a dedicated learning mentor, who supports their learning, teaches them 3D modelling skills, and assists in evidencing their progress and achievement. Personalisation is reflected in flexible learning and adapting the programme to meet each learner’s unique needs...

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They'll go through training sessions, helping to build their confidence, their IT skills and meet other trainees, opening up vital communication and interaction with others...

They can learn and interact with virtual people in our seminar rooms, introducing them to new skills, helping them with presentation skills, building their CV, and giving them their personal island to build anything they wish...

They can team up to produce large virtual environments, helping them to tap new skills and the ability to work in groups towards a set goal...

...to help them engage more with others in the community, to build their self-esteem and readiness for work...

...and on course completion, they'll enjoy a virtual accreditation ceremony along with its real-life counterpart!

What can your clients look forward to?...

Here's a quick peek at the virtual world and the skills they'll learn...

How can we install Digital Highways at our premises?

Nothing could be simpler – our technical team will examine your hardware and install everything that's needed on your computers and give taster sessions to any of your employees that will be involved. Then we can train them up to host the course (still keeping our support, of course) or we can send in trained tutors whenever you need to hold sessions. Our support and technical staff are always just a call away to help you. Once it's all installed, learners register an avatar and log on with their name and password. A decent broadband connection is needed, as well as hardware that can run our 3D environments (see our website FAQs for more details).

Tell me more about your 3D Learning Environments.

These are easily accessed through the internet and people navigate and communicate using digital versions of themselves called avatars. The environments are flexible and can represent places or objects found in the real world (classroom, library or cafe etc) or creations of the imagination (a platform in the sky or other gravity defying object!). Our learning environments include a supermarket, office buildings, hospital, medical clinic, art gallery, leisure centre and much more, some being exact replicas of real places.

Our environments can be used for simulating real-life situations and role play. They also offer a safe space for people to practice skills and build confidence due to the anonymity of the avatar. There’s also the option for learners to communicate by voice or instant messaging and have private spaces to practice skills or explore their creativity.

Participants use these environments as safe spaces for simulated learning and skills practice e.g an office building for interview or presentation skills, where learners can get to the stage where they can face a personal interview with confidence. Our virtual supermarket and bank are great for practising money skills. Learning is much more engaging in a virtual environment. For instance, learners can use our 'Office of Decrepit Co', full of Health & Safety disasters, to learn about safety in the workplace.

Participants with an interest in IT and gaming often learn the modelling skills rapidly, creating complex objects and bringing their learning to life. Importantly, learners have reported that they are not distracted by how they may look, or feel about others’ ideas about them, and can get on with learning.

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If you play 3D games, then you will have experience of using these virtual world environments, which we design and create for learning and work that’s fun. In all our products, users represent themselves and interact with others in the virtual world environment through 'avatars' which they control with a mouse or keyboard.

What is a virtual environment or 3D virtual world?

Let’s answer your questions...

They’ll need basic literacy and IT skills. So an individual would need to know how to read some instructions, switch on a computer, use a mouse etc. Some knowledge of using the internet and email is an advantage, but our mentors can help with this on our introductory courses.

What skills does a client need to take part in your course?

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We realise that not everyone has the right ideas about this kind of learning programme, so we give a taster session to let people get ‘hands-on’ to see if it appeals to them. We can bring our mobile kit and do one of these short sessions with a handful of learners. These sessions are mapped to specific abilities, so even if the individual doesn’t go ahead with the programme, they will have achieved some learning outcomes.

How do we know if your course will be right for our clients?

Ÿ If the course is not meeting your needs we’ll look at it with you to adapt it... Ÿ If you have skills or interests e.g. coding, graphic design, writing etc, we’ll incorporate these

into your programme...Ÿ You remain in control so if you want to speed up, slow down or pause, we’ll work to do this...Ÿ We will provide flexible times for your sessions...Ÿ We don’t have set classes, so people can fit learning around their lives - the virtual world

never closes (although our staff have family lives too!)... Ÿ Attending our sessions in person isn’t mandatory - if you lack confidence or can’t attend a

session, you can do the course from home, providing you have the right equipment and broadband...

Ÿ We understand that you may lack the confidence initially to use voice or Skype. so instant chat is fine - we’ll build up to voice at your pace...

Ÿ You can work on a one-to-one basis with your mentor, and build up to attending group sessions when you feel confident to do so...

Ÿ We focus on quality of provision, not quantity of learners or qualifications.

Imagine I’m a client. How can you personalise my programme?

Absolutely! We work with Local Authorities and JCPs to deliver our range of courses on a profiled basis throughout the year. Depending on the programme we will take on a group of 6 to 8 learners at one go and work with them using our personalised approach. Learners will enrol at the same time, work directly with mentors and attend group tutorials to work on group projects where appropriate.

Can we sign up cohorts of learners?

How can participants progress through group work?

It's important to simply get people out of the house and mixing socially in a group. Participants can deliver presentations in these group sessions, demonstrating their learning and discussing curriculum topics and points of interest. They can also help each other build and progress through the course. Topics such as communication skills and managing time are introduced here and followed with practice using the 3D environment e.g. completing a simulation or a scenario-based exercise.

How is the coursework assessed?

Mainly through our online tool, Cloud Portfolio 3D, where learners can upload evidence to build their portfolio in order to gain their award or certificate. The tool is user friendly and is an easy way of storing files, communicating their progress with their assessor / supervisor. Cloud Portfolio 3D is designed to help participants with showing evidence of their:

Learning ExperiencesAchievements Plans for progression

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A Way Forward for All...

Give us a call now on 0208 123 4708or drop us a line at info@hao2.euAnd let’s talk about the best solution for you...

Hao2.eu is an awarding winning technology company specialising in using 3D virtual world technologies for learning and work. We design and deliver engaging programmes using 3D learning environments which provide a safe and motivational space for individuals to gain vocational skills and build confidence. Hao2 is an approved G-Cloud supplier and been awarded the Tech UK Business Professional Certificate for 3 consecutive years. Autus, a disabled people's led charity, is licensed to sell 3DNovations courses.

www.hao2.eu

So often, people with disabilities or autism have the support they need during education, but once out of that system, there's nowhere for them to go. Together, we can change

their options and outlook when it comes to employment...

There's a way we can work together to give people with complex needs a sure foundation in getting back to work. A way that's fun. A way that engages them. A way that recognises their worth and identity as unique individuals, building confidence and raising self-esteem. It’s a method that helps them practice and hone their skills in a virtual world... until they're ready to face the wider one.

Preparing your premises is easy, as well as readying your staff for supporting course delivery. You'll be supported by our administration, technical and mentoring teams every step of the way - and we'll make sure that each of your clients get the best out of the course. We even have the means to provide you with bespoke courses should your requirements change or advance. It's a method that can – and will - change people's lives, as well as benefiting your local economy...

Don’t just take our word for it...

Robert Lewis has built some amazing things that have made a huge difference to other people's lives. He was an army engineer and a designer/installer of assistive equipment for disabled people. But his ability to use his creative and engineering skills was limited by serious health conditions, making it impossible for him to do the activities he previously did.

For Robert, Digital Highways “has given me new ways for meeting new people, and the chance to set the classroom up and help other students in their work" - as other trainees worked on the course to achieve their City & Guilds accredited qualification.

In less than 3 months, Robert has created a "Treasure Island" of content for personal development, creative expression and relaxation, as well as a range of work-related content like the 3D Supermarket which Robert plans to use to help people improve their confidence and skills for work, in areas such as managing money and living independently.

Thanks to Digital Highways, Robert is able to "build objects I never dreamed I would be able to build", and create 3D content and scenarios to support his professional goals as a PTTLS-qualified volunteer IT tutor, as well as to explore his own creativity!

Simon Davies has been a self-employed writer, journalist and graphic designer for most of his life, but he has been plagued with health problems several times in his working life since being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1999. He has worked in several creative media such as comics, theatre and screen writing, and has concentrated on marketing and promotion in the past. He suffered a major depression in mid 2012 and had to stop working due to this condition. Simon enrolled in Digital Highways, “because it seemed a very creative way that would give me the chance to work therapeutically in a new medium – the 3D virtual world – and help me gain new skills. The course structure and evidence gathering was comprehensive and I was given full and friendly support by the tutors.”

Over the duration of the course, Simon created a 3D hub for a new company he has planned, and has plans to build a virtual 'town' with 3D premises that represents commercial partners and clients. He also has helped to build a virtual counterpart to one of our Digital Access Points in South Wales. Thanks to Digital Highways, “I've overcome many of the effects of depression, including a lack of confidence and low self-esteem. It's also great to have been introduced to a new creative medium that I enjoy.”

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We’ve got more success stories for you. Just get in touch and we’ll send you some!