The government has launched free online education courses for people to take while they are staying at home.
It is hoped the initiative will boost people's digital and numeracy skills and lead to improved job prospects once the lockdown ends.
The 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.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, who is launching the new Skills Toolkit 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.”
Some of the subjects available include learning how to create online content, the fundamentals of digital marketing and how to code for data analysis.
Organisations including the University of Leeds, the Institute of Coding, Google Digital Garage and the Open University have been involved in building the online courses.
The Education department says the courses can be worked through at the student's own pace.
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.”
The courses are available at www.gov.uk/theskillstoolkit
