PlanetRecruit has staff Itching to help

British Computer Society (BCS) affiliate IT-Can-Help (Itch) has been assisted in reaching a wider audience by online recruitment specialist PlanetRecruit.

Itch is a non-profit organisation set up in 1994 by the Disability Specialist Group of the BCS, specifically to help people with severe disabilities use technology to improve their quality of life. It is financed by IT industry sponsorships.

Teams of volunteers work flexible hours under the guidance of a county controller to provide free computer hardware or software help to all people with disabilities. It also refers them to other agencies when adaptations to equipment or assessments are required.

PlanetRecruit advertises Itch volunteer positions for free on its www.planetrecruit.com website. The company has also sent out a mailer on behalf of Itch to all job seekers with relevant qualifications to raise awareness of the organisation.

"It has been a pleasure to work with Itch," said PlanetRecruit chief executive Simon Appleton. "Because a large majority of our jobs are within the IT sector, we are in an ideal position to give Itch rapid access to a broad audience of potential volunteers that it would not otherwise have.

"Itch provides a valuable service. I am happy we were able to help, and hope to continue to assist the programme in obtaining its goals in the future."

Terry Johns, a contractor in computer aided design, decided to sign up as a volunteer. "I wanted to give something back to the community. I really believe in the merits of the Itch programme, especially how it aims to use technology to give each individual more control," he explained. "On a personal note, volunteering gave me a real sense of achievement quite different from that of my day job."

After going through a selection procedure, Johns was appointed to the position of Itch county controller for Cornwall. He is now responsible for the co-ordination of the team of professional volunteers and their support to users throughout the region.

Johns is also responsible for recording the details of every client visit, the reason for the call, what the volunteer did and whether the problem was solved or whether a call-back was required. This information is collated nationally by the Itch Steering Group and used for future planning and policy making.

As a result of PlanetRecruit's involvement with Itch, the group has seen a huge increase in the number of interested people getting in touch for further information, with about a third of all enquiries coming straight through the PlanetRecruit site.