Digital Skills are so important for modern daily life. They can help you to improve your confidence with a wide range of tasks at work, as well as when learning something new or undertaking regular admin.
Many jobs and daily activities require at least an entry-level understanding of the digital world, so it is more important than ever to have basic skills under your belt.
Check out these courses - many of which are free or low cost - that will help you understand more about digital skills and how you can brush up yours.
Why improve your digital skills?
Digital skills are valuable and sought after for all kinds of jobs.
Digital skills can be anything from using social media and staying safe online to coding, programming or digital marketing.
- 82% of all job vacancies require digital skills [1]
- Roles requiring digital skills pay 29% more than those that don’t [2]
- In recent years, the number of digital jobs grew almost three times as quickly as other occupations [3]
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Find a training course which will help you improve your essential digital and computer skills. Courses are available for all levels of ability - from those who have little or no experience using computers and other digital devices to those looking to brush up on the latest applications.
- Learn My Way: Online Basics
How to search and explore the internet, keep in touch with email, and use public services online - all while being safe and secure
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Surrey Adult Learning: Essential digital skills qualifications
Take a positive step towards developing your digital skills to help you with work and at home, whether it's using emails and searching for information or learning how to shop or make appointments online. These free essential digital skills courses are suitable for people with limited or basic experience of digital devices.
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New to using computers or digital devices? Learn the basics of how to set up and use your digital devices.
- Surrey Adult Learning: Computer Basics (Paid Course)
These digital skills courses provide an opportunity to build your skills and confidence, whether you are a complete beginner or already have some digital experience. They provide a firm grounding in digital hardware, internet safety and office programmes, essential for business administration roles or navigating the digital world from home.
- Surrey Adult Learning: Apple Mac (Paid Course)
These courses teach you everything you need to know about Apple Mac products and Mac OS, from set up to basic tips, keyboard shortcuts, and much more.
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Guides to using desktop publishing and spreadsheet applications from Microsoft Office to Google Workspace apps.
- Learn My Way: Email
With email an important part of many workplaces, you'll discover how to set up, write and format your messages.
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LinkedIn: Microsoft Outlook
Learn how to use Microsoft Outlook email. Training includes how to set up Outlook and use Outlook Web Access and Microsoft Exchange. Find out how to manage your time with the Calendar and Tasks features, and connect to a wide variety of email, cloud computing, and social media accounts.
- LinkedIn: Microsoft Office
Explore the Microsoft Office applications suite. Learn to write documents, take notes, create spreadsheets, and more. LinkedIn's Office training covers a wide range of software titles including Excel, Publisher, OneNote, Outlook, SharePoint, Word, Access, and PowerPoint.
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Many jobs today need digital skills. You need them even for jobs that do not ask for high levels of qualifications or experience.
Technology is also creating lots of exciting new jobs. These jobs will need workers with the confidence use the internet and digital devices, communicate via email.
- Barclays Digital Wings: Digital Skills for Business
Using digital skills to grow your business can give it the boost it needs. From managing your people to marketing your goods, there’s technology to support all aspects of your business. Find out how to get started with introducing digital skills into your workplace.
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Find out how to grow your business or career using digital marketing. Learn how to use different digital marketing tools and develop strategies to help your campaigns target the right audience.
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From the basics of staying safe online through to more in depth training for those looking to start a career in cyber security.
- Barclays Digital Wings: Being safe and legal online
Learning how to use the internet safely is an essential digital skill for anyone who goes online. Protect yourself by creating strong passwords, establishing good habits when storing data and learning how to spot online scams.
- Learn My Way: Online Safety
If you are using the internet you need to think about staying safe online. This subject will help keep you, your personal information and your devices safe.
- Free Courses in England: Cyber Security - Level 2 Certificate
In an increasingly digital world, cyber security is fast becoming a main concern for many organisations. With complex online scams and cyber crime, it’s essential that organisations have an understanding of preventative measures to maintain cyber security. This free online course is a key starting point for anyone looking to begin their career in cyber security.
- Free Courses in England: Data Protection & Data Security - Level 2 Certificate
Get to grips with essential skills and knowledge, and gain a better understanding of the current data legislation. Plus steps that organisations and users might take to help protect their data and ICT systems from common threats.
- Google Career Certificate in Cybersecurity
Prepare for a new career in the high-growth field of cybersecurity with a professional certificate from Google. Learn online at your own pace and get certified in under six months. Gain job-ready skills that are in demand, like how to identify common risks, threats, and vulnerabilities, and the techniques to help mitigate them.
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From the basics of setting up a profile and staying safe on the platforms to developing social media marketing skills for businesses.
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Surrey Adult Learning: Social Media (Paid Course)
Discover how to communicate safely with different platforms such as blogging, Facebook and Instagram. You will understand how to setup your profile safely, write engaging content, market a business and share information - putting you safely in control of your digital footprint.
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Innovation South Virtual Campus: Social Media
This course will focus on one aspect of Digital Marketing, Social Media. You will learn about the social media platforms' differences and opportunities, how to identify the target audience and marketplace and how to develop and build a social media marketing campaign.
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Learn the fundamental basics of web development and create your own web pages and apps.
- Innovation South Virtual Campus: Web Development
In this course, you will learn how to build a basic website from scratch using only HTML and CSS; the building blocks of the World Wide Web (WWW). We will endeavour to simplify the concepts and provide you with the tools necessary for you to enjoy your new journey into cyberspace.
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Please note: these course will require you to register with the individual service providers.
This list of resources is not exhaustive and there are many other resources available. We will keep this under review and may update the list from time to time.
THE SKILLS TOOLKIT
The Skills Toolkit is made up of free online courses, tools and resources to help you improve your digital and numeracy skills. The Department for Education has consulted some of the country’s leading educational experts and employers to make up a collection of high quality resources to suit a range of interests and skill levels.
