Unemployed residents across West Yorkshire will soon be able to access free devices, data and digital skills training, helping them get online, build confidence and move closer to employment.
West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin has unveiled a new initiative providing residents with a free digital device, such as a laptop, alongside personalised training and free data or Wi-Fi access. The scheme is designed to help people find jobs, access training, and use essential online services from the comfort of their own homes.
The initiative forms part of Mayor Brabin’s commitment to ensuring that everyone in the region can enjoy a healthy working life. As part of this pledge, she has joined forces with NHS leaders to better connect health and employment services across West Yorkshire. This partnership will focus on supporting people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to secure good-quality jobs that meet their individual needs — helping more residents gain the confidence, skills and tools to thrive in an increasingly digital world.
The initiative will launch first in Leeds, before being expanded across West Yorkshire in the coming months. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority is investing £250,000 to deliver the scheme. Working closely with local councils and the voluntary and community sector, the pilot will provide free digital devices and a minimum of five hours of tailored digital skills training to those most in need.
This evidence-based approach focuses support on people who face the greatest barriers to accessing well-paid employment, ensuring that opportunities reach those who will benefit most.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire said:
“Too many people in West Yorkshire are locked out of opportunity because they can’t get online or don’t have the skills they need to confidently use the internet. That isn’t fair on people and isn’t healthy for our economy.
“Today’s funding means more people will get a device and hands-on support to build their confidence – so they can find good jobs, access training, manage their health, and connect with the essential online services that make everyday life easier.
“Through our ambitious Healthy Working Life partnership with the NHS, we’re bringing together the practical, personalised and trusted support that people need to succeed, helping us build a brighter West Yorkshire that works for all.”
Fatima Khan-Shah, Chair of Digital Inclusion West Yorkshire and Inclusivity Champion for the region said:
“In today’s world, more and more is online – from banking to health appointments to job applications. Yet we also know a fifth of our working-age residents lack the essential digital skills they need to work and thrive. This can and must change.
“Our pioneering Digital Inclusion West Yorkshire programme has supported almost 300 organisations to back people’s digital skills, building confidence and putting more money into people’s pockets. As chair of the digital inclusion group it has been humbling to see and hear the impact this has had.
“This new funding will help us to go even further, ensuring that everyone in the region can access the basics of life and have a fair chance at flourishing”.
The new support was unveiled during a visit to GIPSIL in East Leeds, short for Gipton Supported Independent Living, an organisation dedicated to helping local communities access the hands-on support and resources they need to thrive.
Gipton Supported Independent Living is among the Leeds-based partners delivering free devices, data and digital skills training, backed by the Mayor of West Yorkshire and 100% Digital Leeds. The latter, a collaboration between Leeds City Council and the Leeds Health and Care Partnership, leads a citywide effort to promote digital inclusion through trusted community and voluntary sector organisations.
During the visit, the Mayor and the West Yorkshire Inclusivity Champion met with charity staff and local residents improving their digital confidence. The visit concluded with the presentation of a refurbished laptop to a jobseeker gaining the digital skills needed to access new employment opportunities.
Louise Forrest, Director of Development & Partnerships at GIPSIL said:
“This funding from WYCA is transformational. It allows us to reach young people who are not only struggling with their mental health but are also disconnected from education, employment, and opportunity.
“With this support, we can walk alongside them – building confidence, restoring hope, and opening doors to a future they may have thought was out of reach.”
Jason Tutin, Head of 100% Digital Leeds at Leeds City Council said:
“This funding will help people to connect with services and their community, overcome barriers to work, and move closer to the labour market. It’s so much harder to do those things if you are offline and digitally excluded.
“That’s why 100% Digital Leeds works with partners across the city to strengthen the digital inclusion infrastructure in communities. Organisations like GIPSIL are helping to increase digital access, engagement, and participation so that more people can get the help they need to use digital tools, technology, and services in the right way for them.”
A resident who has received support from 100% Digital Leeds and GIPSIL said:
“When I had to leave home and move into emergency accommodation, I didn’t have a phone or Wi-Fi. I was in my final year of A levels and really struggling to keep up.
“Getting a Wi-Fi box and SIM made such a difference, it meant I could complete my university applications online. After a lot of hard work, I’ve been offered a place to study Nursing with a foundation year at University.
“I’m so happy and really grateful for the support.”
West Yorkshire’s £37 million Healthy Working Life plan brings together three major funding streams in an innovative partnership between the NHS, the region’s five local authorities, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The goal is to maximise the impact of investment and improve health, wellbeing, and employment opportunities across the region.
The funding, provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), combines three key programmes:
Connect to Work – a £16 million initiative focused on helping people with long-term disabilities return to or enter employment.
Health & Growth Accelerator – an £11 million NHS England scheme designed to tackle economic inactivity and enable more people to stay in or return to work.
Economic Inactivity Trailblazer – a £10 million pilot exploring innovative approaches to supporting people who are economically inactive back into the workforce.
Together, these programmes represent a coordinated regional effort to remove barriers to employment, improve health outcomes, and create fairer opportunities for residents across West Yorkshire. This new digital skills pilot is being funded through the Economic Inactivity Trailblazer, part of West Yorkshire’s wider investment in helping residents back into work.
More details about the region’s Healthy Working Life programme — which brings together health, skills and employment support www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk
