Course content

This course will help you build and extend your digital skills. It will help you prepare for jobs in different roles in the digital space. It will also help you in creative industries and other industries where digital skills are needed. This could be jobs such as finance, marketing and machining.

It includes skills, knowledge, and behaviours expected by employers. It also covers a wide range of different digital technologies, systems, and software. This includes Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint to create professional standard documents ensuring accuracy and presentation. You'll gain a good understanding of cybersecurity, how this affects individuals and organisations, and learn what you can do to keep yourself and others safe.

The course is aimed at learners who either want to gain employment or move into a role where they can apply their digital and IT knowledge and skills. This course is accredited and following a successful assessment you'll achieve:

• Level 2: Certificate in Digital and IT Skills (Gateway)

This course will help you to:

Build skills to create, edit and format complex documents in Word and Excel. Software specific skills are then introduced which focus on work-related documents and build independent study skills.

Key areas:

• Word: you'll learn word-processing skills and be able to maximise the tools available in word-processing software to prepare, process and produce a wide range of sophisticated and professional documents accurately and efficiently.
• Excel: you'll learn about spreadsheet software tools and techniques to be able to produce complex spreadsheets. You'll learn how to apply advanced formulae and functions (IF, MIN, MAX, AVERAGE, COUNT) to process data and use automated tools to aid productivity. You'll develop skills in presenting spreadsheet data in different ways, using numbers, text, and graphs.
• PowerPoint: You'll learn how to use the software as well as the communication skills to support building and using PowerPoint for the purpose of presenting information to a wider audience, or a job interview etc.

The assessment is portfolio based with evidence to support skills and knowledge. There are four modules in total. The two extra modules are:

• Cybersecurity: learn about cybercrime and the risks and effects it has on individuals and organisations. You'll understand routine protective methods used to maintain cybersecurity. This includes the principles of vulnerability, penetration testing and user access control.
• Digital skills career progression: understand the importance of digital skills in the workplace. You'll learn how changes in employment have led to an increase in demand across a number of sectors. You'll learn about the different types of job roles where digital skills are needed. You'll also learn the characteristics valued by employers to establish a successful career in today’s digital economy. You'll identify your own career/progression goals and plan how you'll build your digital skills to meet your intended goals.

You'll also develop the following skills for work:

• Work as part of a team, sharing ideas and motivating peers to complete a task.
• Have a positive attitude to plan your own work and complete it effectively within a timeframe.
• Be a good listener and follow instructions accurately.
• Be able to adapt the way you work when circumstances change, or you need to switch to a different task quickly.
• Be resilient and be able to stick with a task, even if things don’t go to plan, and learn from setbacks.
• Literacy and numeracy skills will be supported throughout the course.