New Beginnings, and my own.
I came across a press release yesterday talking about a company called New Beginnings Digital Media in Gateshead.
New Beginnings was a charity that gave ICT and web design training to disabled and unemployed volunteers looking to get into the workplace.
They became New Beginnings Digital Media — a social enterprise company that provides ICT and web design services for professional clients, while still training disabled and unemployed adultsPress Release
As a Gateshead resident, and someone working in the web design industry, and someone who have a passion for social equality, I just felt the need to point this out and say a big well done to everyone concerned, with a couple of provisos, but I’ll get to them later. They’ve apparently landed a contract with God TV which broadcasts to 250 countries. As it ‘appens, I used to know someone who worked for God TV — I met him while we were both taking an evening class in Acting Techniques and as part of our qualification we had to do a piece of dialogue, for which we chose Monty Python’s bookshop sketch.
So don’t go assuming that just because someone is very religious — he is, he had one of them great big fiery belief things — that they’ve not got a sense of humour. If the rest of God TV are like him, then they’ll be a great bunch. However, I suspect like pretty much everywhere, you’ll find some people with a nice sense of humour, and some right miserable buggers. I’d guess at God TV, you’ll find a higher than average proportion of religious people, though 
Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll be tuning in just yet, though…
I’m also very much in favour of training being offered to unemployed people (whether disabled or not), as I’ve personally benefitted from this myself. My potted history: university degree in Biological Sciences. Unemployed. Training for Work scheme in COBOL, employed in the private sector as a COBOL developer, employed in the public sector as a COBOL developer, learned new database and web skills and that’s what I do now. So if it hadn’t been for receiving training when I was unemployed I wouldn’t be where I am today. Well, career wise. I could still have been sat on my PC watching QI, I guess…
On the flip side, their website claims they are based in “Newcastle Upon Tyne”, whereas they are in fact in Gateshead. Their postal address says “Gateshead”, they’re South of the Tyne, they’re in bloody Gateshead! Stop trying to pretend you’re in Newcastle.
And secondly, they’re using a table-based design, and a transitional DOCTYPE that doesn’t validate. But no-one expects them to be perfect overnight, and I’ll have a word and see if I can get them to see the light, and maybe even join us over on AccessifyForum!
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