Carl’s internship | People Know How

Carl spent a month at People Know How, supporting our Reconnect and Positive Transitions services as part of Professionals UK internship.

In February, we were joined by Carl as part of an internship through Professionals UK. Arriving from Germany, Carl spent his time with us by lending a helping hand to our services.

Supporting our services

We were delighted to have Carl join our Reconnect team during his time with us. This service supports adults and families to improve digital and social inclusion through digital groups and one-to-one sessions, as well as through the national Connecting Scotland digital support helpline. Carl lent a hand at various digital groups across Edinburgh and the Lothians:

“The charity has a service called Reconnect, which specialises in helping people to improve their digital skills if they have trouble using the computer or mobile phone. I was tasked with going to different locations in Edinburgh and meeting people at the digital groups there. We often met at community buildings where people are invited to join and get help with their digital problems. Some people come regularly and receive training to use their computers. Some come once to get help with specific problems, like creating an email account or setting up a computer. The people I met were very friendly and interesting, and I liked helping and talking to them.”

He also supported our young people’s service, Positive Transitions, which supports children, young people and families in the transition to secondary school:

“I also helped out with People Know How’s other service, Positive Transitions, which supports young people as they move into secondary school. I helped young people improve their social skills and teamwork by playing games like soccer or basketball with them.”

The joy of helpling others

During his time at People Know How, Carl helped many people across our services, finding a sense of reward in providing support to members of the community:

“I was surprised at how nice it felt to help people you don't know. A lot of the people at the digital groups didn’t grow up with the technology we have now, so they didn’t have as much experience with computers or the internet. The support can start with learning to do everyday things. I helped them know what different buttons do, showing them easier ways to access things or simply just reassuring them about what they were doing.

It felt very fulfilling to help them. Mutual respect is the key. Talking and hearing their stories is very important, but also very interesting. I met various people with different backgrounds.

I liked listening to their stories. One person told me about his experience when plastic bottles were introduced to the public. It was in 1952 when he saw a plastic bottle for the first time. It stood on the table but was knocked over and fell to the ground. He expected it to shatter into pieces when it hit the ground, but it didn't. It just bounced around a bit. He was perplexed when he picked up the seemingly indestructible bottle. ‘How could this bottle still be whole?’ he asked himself, still in shock. So he went around and showed this plastic bottle to his co-workers, and they were surprised as well when they saw him throwing the bottle to the ground but not breaking it. Stories like this are very interesting to me.

Another time, I helped someone who was having trouble hearing the ringing sound when she was getting Skype calls. Together, we figured out what the problem was, and as we talked, she told me about her life and how much she had experienced.

Another person was training to use her phone and texting her daughter and friends. She already knew how to complete all her desired tasks. I just had to sit next to her and reassure her whenever she tapped on the touch screen. I also showed her how to organise the photos on her phone while she told me about her family and the people in the photos. It was very heart-warming to listen to her. Moments like these made my time at People Know How very valuable.”

The VIP experience

Interns are part of our VIP community, which stands for volunteers, interns and placement students. They truly are ‘very important people,’ as they are indispensable to our services supporting the community.

Internships like Carl’s allow for an individual to get to know a new place and give back to the community while learning new skills, gaining experience and meeting people from all walks of life.

If you’re an individual, student, organisation or course leader and would like to enquire into internships at People Know How, you can find out more on our Join our team page.

Join our team