The Rabat local council, in collaboration with Vodafone Malta Limited and TCTC Limited, is supporting the Rabat community by providing free ICT courses for residents of all ages. Over 300 people are attending these courses which are being held at the local council premises. Vodafone is supporting TCTC Ltd, the computer training centre, in organising free IT and telecommunication courses at various localities in Malta and Gozo.

Vodafone is supporting a training initiative, known as Learn It. This is spread across 42 different local councils in Malta and Gozo and aims to narrow the digital divide across different communities.

Mikhail Gerchuk, chief commercial officer at Vodafone said, “We are a telecommunications company, and we are happy to support the local community to receive training in technology, that will assist them in their day to day lives.”

Rabat mayor Frank Fabri congratulated Vodafone for its support and commitment towards local communities and said that an encouraging percentage of the students who received training at the Rabat local council also took part in follow-up subsidised courses offered.

Participants are taught how to make use of on-line services, such as those from government departments, how to shop on-line, use internet banking, file a report to the police, file a complaint to the local council and much more. Through the support of Vodafone, students obtain hands-on experience and learn about the basic features of a mobile phone, such as how to send and receive an SMS and an MMS, add new contacts, use Vodafone services from the phone and through the website, understand how to top up their phone and similar functions that are so important in everyday life.

TCTC sets up computer laboratories powered with state-of-the-art equipment and broadband internet connections.

The Learn It campaign took off last June, and over 4,000 applicants participated. These ranged from young students and adults, to parents and the elderly. Applications can be obtained from local council offices.