Creative Spark Dundalk is delighted to be assisting in the launch of a Grow Remote chapter! This week, our Creative Spark Downtown Hub Manager Ciara Breen hosted the Grow Remote Chapter in our Muirhevnamor facility. In this blog we take a look at what Grow Remote represents and how you can get involved!

Mission of your local Chapter

A new grow remote chapter launched this week in Dundalk.

Local Grow Remote chapters are independent from the network of digital hubs across Ireland. However, Chapter lead teams often work in partnership with digital hub managers to help build community towards the following goals:

1. Repopulating the local area
2. Boosting local employment
3. Connecting local people
4. Make a social, economic and environmental impact locally

Dundalk town centre has seen a regeneration in the past few years with the newly painted shop fronts and the opening of local cafes, Grow Remote Dundalk feels their members can further support the local economy on the back of this regeneration. Holding our events locally and working on initiatives with local businesses.

We also know that isolation has been the biggest challenge for remote workers throughout the pandemic and the chapter aims to provide a support network for like minded people who can take an hour out of their week for a coffee and a chat with people in similar situations, bringing back that feeling of a workplace community.

Training Supports Available

With the support of the Grow Remote network, the local Dundalk chapter has a number of training courses available to members which include:

• How to find remote work

There are 80,000 decent, pensionable jobs open in Ireland today. Advertised without location, the biggest challenge can often be knowing where to find these jobs.

• Become a remote ready worker

Fun engaging course that gives members access to remote employers, community support and looks at the positive social impact of working remote / locally.

• Leading remote teams

This training course was developed in partnership with Laois-Offaly ETB, the IDA and Solas.  This comprehensive programme will equip people managers with everything they need to know to effectively lead their remote teams.

The courses aim to support all areas of remote work from search for a remote job to managing your team effectively while working remote. You can find further information or sign up to these courses at: Remote Ready - Grow Remote

National Development

The Grow Remote network continues to highlight the importance of remote workers in the development of the local community, less commuting time means more valuable time which can be spent with family or participating in the local community. And they are working hard to make this the national norm.

In September 2021, Grow Remote convened the Remote Alliance, a partnership of four companies united by a commitment to developing best practices for remote work in Ireland. Vodafone, ESB, Ebay and Liberty Insurance will work together on remote working policies and hybrid working strategies across their companies.

Co-founder of Grow Remote, Tracy Keogh, explains the reasons behind establishing the Remote Alliance:

“When we have household names looking at remote work for the purposes of community development, we can drive change to the point that remote work works for profit, people and planet. When our kids are looking for careers some years from now, they’ll wonder how jobs were ever only available within 50km of a building.”

For updates on the Grow Remote Dundalk Chapter, join the Facebook page Grow Remote Dundalk here. We will share news on upcoming events and a weekly spotlight on newly advertised remote jobs available to you.

If you have any questions or would like to get involved with the Dundalk Chapter contact: ciara@creativespark.ie