Free online courses to improve digital skills and numeracy during lockdown – Manchester Evening News

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.”

Covaid-19 – helping those who need it most in Greater Manchester

The coronavirus outbreak has left many people across Greater Manchester struggling for access to food, basics and other support. Many of them are self-isolating, often in fragile health and alone.

Public services have been working hard to find and help them, but we know they are over-stretched and working round the clock.

So the Manchester Evening News and the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity have launched Covaid-19 – a fundraiser aimed at supporting those who most need help, from elderly people with no support network to homeless families living in hotels.

The money will be distributed via the mayor of Greater Manchester’s charity.

You can donate by visiting our JustGiving page here.

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