Free online courses are being offered in a bid to help boost the nation’s skills while people are staying at home during the coronavirus lockdown.
Digital and numeracy courses are available, via www.gov.uk/theskillstoolkit, so people can use the restrictions to improve job prospects and confidence levels.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, who is launching the website, said: “I want businesses to encourage their furloughed employees to use The Skills Toolkit to improve their knowledge, build their confidence and support their mental health, so they have skills they need to succeed after the coronavirus outbreak.”
With more people expected to be working and studying remotely in the coming months, the platform offers opportunities to learn new skills.
The platform also offers employees who have been furloughed an opportunity to keep up their skills development while they are at home.
Courses cover a range of levels, from everyday maths and tools for using email and social media more effectively at work to more advanced training in a variety of skills.
Learning how to create online content, which was developed by the University of Leeds and the Institute of Coding, understanding the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing from Google Digital Garage, and learning how to code for data analysis from the Open University, are among the subjects available.
People can work through them at their own pace because all courses are online and flexible, according to the Education Department.
Matthew Fell, of the CBI, said online learning is a “great way” for people to upgrade their skills particularly during a lockdown.
Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “The impact of Covid-19 has shown how important digital skills are, both for work and other aspects of our lives.
“Technology is going to play a hugely important role in our economic recovery and this new platform will help ensure everyone is able to improve their digital skills and take advantage of the opportunities ahead.”
