(JJ Hurley)
The K Works Hub in Kinsale is proving a vital link for many of those who work as remote workers in the town and district.
An initiative driven by Future Kinsale, the hub is located at the old library on the Short Quay in what are very comfortable surroundings.
Alan Clayton, who is one of those that has played a fundamental role in the project, points to the importance of the space as a meeting place for those who work from home.
‘People do want to get out of the house, people are born to live in a community, that’s why working on your own is not for everybody and having a little space like this is important,’ he said.
‘The question is, maybe my work is complimentary. We are trying to connect people.’
The Hub, which received €20,000 in funding from Cork County Council, also ties into a network of other national hubs, which is a government initiative run by the Western Development Commission.
While the hub offers an opportunity for those working remotely from home with the opportunity to talk business, it also has a more important social role, according to Alan.
‘The space at the moment is very important because the alternative is sitting in a coffee shop and that will cost you a fortune in coffee, and you can’t sit there all day,’ he said.
‘One of the other interesting groups here, which is connected to a national group, called Grow Remote, has 80 members in a Whatsapp group- all working from home in Kinsale.
‘So some of them would come here to work, because working on your own all the time can be pretty depressing.’
As part of the plan to promote the hub, a networking evening takes place at the venue on March 20th from 5pm to 7pm.
It is an opportunity not just to meet other people who are working remotely but it is also an opportunity to sample the facilities on offer.
In addition to the hot desks, which can be reserved for short and more sustained periods, the centre offers the opportunity to host secure Zoom meetings.
The variety of the hub has seen the location feature watch parties and most recently several of its regular users dialled into a world-wide venture capital event.
For Alan, the hub is a unique space that offers significant opportunities, which Future Kinsale is currently exploiting in its enterprise initiative The Art of Business, The Business of Art.
Launched last December, it is helping several entrepreneurs fulfil their ambitions to start their own business, with the hub acting as the backdrop for the programme.
K Works is certainly at the cutting edge of promoting remote working, while exploiting those important links among its regular users.
To find out more about the initiative, log onto www.futurekinsale.com and follow the links.
Alan Clayton seen at the K Hub, Short Quay, Kinsale, the hub is providing an important asset to all those working from home in the area.
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