The Department of Education has introduced four new courses to The Skills Toolkit which allows people to access free, high-quality online courses in digital and numeracy whilst at home.
Launched in April, The Skills Toolkit is an online learning platform operated by the Government and gives people access to free digital and numeracy courses, helping them build their skills, progress in work, and boost their job prospects.
Digital skills are becoming increasingly essential across a vast array of jobs and sectors in the modern workforce, with 82% of all job openings requesting digital skills.
Boosting the nation’s digital skills is a first step towards economic recovery, helping people build up the skills employers need and boosting growth and productivity.
Since its launch on 28 April, the platform has allowed 136,000 people to start a course, with more than 416,000 views of the platform.
The Skills Toolkit
The new free courses are an introductory course from Microsoft on using Microsoft Outlook, an introduction to bookkeeping from the Open University, and an introduction to finance from independent training provider Corndel, plus an advanced course on how computer networks operate from the Open University in collaboration with Cisco.
The Skills Toolkit is available to everyone and has a range of courses from introductory to more advanced levels.
These are skills that are sought after for many types of jobs, with 82% of job vacancies requiring digital skills.
Gillian Keegan, Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills said: “I’d like to congratulate the tens of thousands of people who have already taken advantage of the range of high-quality courses The Skills Toolkit has to offer.”
“We’ve had a fantastic response so far with more than 136,000 starts on the courses featured since the platform launched last month. The good news is we have now added four new courses, expanding the range of free digital and numeracy courses available.”
“It is a difficult time for everyone, but we want as many people as possible to be able to continue to gain the skills and confidence that could help them to get ahead. With 82% of all job openings requesting digital skills, I’d encourage anyone looking to learn something new, or any employers keen to help their employees keep up their development, to take a look and see what’s on offer.”
