Google - yes, Google - wants to boost Northampton's high street with free digital skills training

Google's Digital Garage is coming to Northampton's Deco Theatre on July 26 as part of its High Street Tour.

It offers businesses, high street shops or even residents looking to start a side hustle the chance to get free face-to-face training on how digital skills can help grow their careers.

It includes how to build a digital marketing plan, knowing your business with data, building social media presence, growing your business on Google Maps and how to create a virtual tour of your shop or workplace.

It comes as research shows nearly half of all small to medium-sized businesses in the East Midlands have no social media presence at all, while nearly over a fifth have no website.

Meanwhile, just over a third of adults in the East Midlands say they would benefit from digital skills training to open up new career opportunities. A quarter of adults in the East Midlands say that they have limited experience of using the internet and would benefit from receiving digital skills training.

The Google Digital Garage workshops will be running at The Deco, Abington Square, July 26 from 10am to 4pm. For more information, visit Google's digital garage website.