Course content

This course will help you to develop your Microsoft Word and Excel skills. It will also give you a good understanding of cybersecurity. In particular, how this affects individuals and organisations and what you can do to keep yourself and others safe.

The course is mostly aimed at learners who want to get a job. This could be in admin or another role that uses Microsoft applications. This course is accredited and following a successful assessment you will achieve:

• Level 1: Certificate in Vocational Studies (Gateway)

In additional to Word and Excel, there will be an initial focus on gaining a working knowledge of file management. We will also cover how to work safely in a work environment.

This course will enable you to:

Build skills to create and edit basic documents in Word and Excel. Software specific skills are then introduced which focus on work related documents and build independent study skills.  Key areas include:

• Word. You will develop word processing skills so you can produce a range of standard documents with a professional presentation. You'll produce different types of documents. This will include letters, memos and reports. You'll also learn that an integral part of document production is the ability to review and adjust content and presentation. Will include settings, tables, images, formatting, mail merge, styles, tabs and alignment. 
• Excel. formula, functions (MIN, MAX, AVERAGE, COUNT), charts, links, and document settings. You will develop skills in presenting spreadsheet data in different ways, using numbers, text and graphs.

Assessment is portfolio based with evidence to support skills and knowledge. There are 4 modules in total.  The additional 2 modules are:

• Cybersecurity. Learn about cybercrime and the risks and effects it has on individuals and organisations. You'll discover routine protective methods used to maintain cybersecurity. This includes the principles of vulnerability and penetration testing and user access control.
• Working Safely. Develop an understanding of different types of risk and hazard. Learn the importance of workplace guidelines, policies and procedures in promoting safety. Discover the characteristics of safe working and how these reduce the risk of harm to self and others.

You will 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 you should learn from setbacks.
• Literacy and numeracy skills will be supported throughout the course.