How to gain PC skills and qualifications

Where do you start?
Explaining where to find a course in the most basic computer skills via the internet is putting the cart before the horse – if your computing experience is non-existent then telling you to visit this, that or the other website isn’t going to be much help.

So, if you are an absolute computing beginner, our advice is to pick up the phone and call the non-profit UK Online Centres helpline on 0800 771 234.

Tell the operator where you live and they will provide a list of nearby places where you can use computers for free, as well as receive basic help and advice in how to do so.

There are 6,000 locations nationwide, situated in libraries, community centres and internet cafes, so most people should live within a short distance from one.

If not, there are even mobile versions set up on buses, that service more remote areas of the country.

Then, once you have located a convenient UK Online Centre, you can take advantage of what's on offer to master a few basic computing skills – such as using a web browser to explore the internet – and feel free to rejoin us for guidance on seeking further learning.

For those already confident using the web, a good starting point is the Directgov website.

In fact, this is the online home for pretty much all government-provided public services including education – just click the ‘Education and learning’ link in the left-hand navigation panel and then explore the options to find specific interest areas.

Computing courses
The Directgov website is very much a hub – as you click on areas of interest you will more often than not be directed to some external service or organisation.

The main player here is Learndirect. Though Learndirect has close ties to the government, it is run as an independent company, albeit a non-profit one under a charitable-trust umbrella (University for Industry).

Learndirect offers hundreds of courses, spanning all types of qualifications and durations, not to mention costs, but at the top level they are divided into two categories – Skills and Qualifications and Business.

Those gathered under the Business umbrella are designed for employers who want to offer structured work-based learning programmes to their employees and, as such, they are not really our concern here.

Although if you are in work and fancy cajoling your firm into organising some on-the-job training, then Learndirect’s Business offerings are worth flagging to your boss (not least because government funding may be available to cover the cost of bringing employees up to GCSE and/or NVQ qualification level).

Learndirect’s Skills and Qualifications programme, meanwhile, offers hundreds of courses. Some lead to recognised qualifications (such as NVQs and degrees), while others are just for the enjoyment of learning.

Some are conducted entirely online (‘ecourses’), while some require you to attend a local learning centre.

With so many options available the best bet is to explore the site to see what suits you.

To give you an idea of what to expect when it comes to the ecourses, though, let’s consider a specific example.

If you want to learn about spreadsheets, for instance, then for £35 Learndirect will sell you an ecourse on Excel 2007. It spans four hours, though enrolees have up to six months to access and complete all the modules.

This particular ecourse demonstrates the basics of using Excel and it is clear and concise. By the end of it, we reckon even the most inexperienced user would be able create and work with simple spreadsheets.

But we are not convinced it offers a lot more than Excel’s own help system. Of course, if you don’t have Excel 2007 and need the skills before applying for a job, say, then it could be a useful option.

This is because Excel 2007 isn’t actually required to follow the course – Learndirect’s online course recreates the Excel 2007 environment in a web browser window.

As this is true of all Learndirect’s computing ecourses, it presents a practical way to experience and learn about particular applications without having to buy them.

Even so, for the really basic stuff like this we would advise trying the aforementioned UK Online Centres first.

A particular local centre might not be able to offer help with the particular skills you desire but they are free to visit and it costs nothing to ask.

You may be able to use the actual software, rather than just the limited versions presented in ecourse browser window.