The Workplace Has Moved On
Catching up is quicker than you think. Most of what's changed since you were last in work is learnable in weeks or months, not years.
BackRefresh Your Skills
Microsoft 365
The everyday toolkit of most UK workplaces: Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams and SharePoint, all working together in the cloud.
AI Essentials
Understanding what tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot actually do, where they help, and where they can mislead you.
Cyber Awareness
Spotting phishing emails, using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, and understanding why IT teams ask you to do the things they ask.
Data Skills
Reading, interpreting and making basic decisions from data: spreadsheets, dashboards, simple charts.
Cloud Fundamentals
A plain-English introduction to what "the cloud" means in practice: why files live in shared drives now, what services like OneDrive or Google Drive actually do.
Digital Collaboration
Working effectively across shared documents, chat channels and video calls with people you might rarely meet in person.
Project Management
The basics of planning, tracking and delivering work using boards, timelines and simple tools like Trello or Microsoft Planner.
Digital Communication
Writing clear, professional emails and messages, and knowing which channel suits which message.
Excel
From simple formulas to structuring a spreadsheet properly, Excel remains one of the most requested skills across office-based roles.
Power BI
A step up from spreadsheets: turning data into visual dashboards and reports. Increasingly common in roles that involve reporting to managers or clients.
Python
A widely used, relatively approachable programming language for automating repetitive tasks, working with data, or as a first step into software development.
Coding Fundamentals
The core ideas behind how software works, such as logic, sequences and variables, before committing to any one language.
Digital Confidence
Hybrid Working
Splitting time between home and an office is now the norm in many organisations, not the exception. It comes with its own etiquette: when you're expected in, how to stay visible, how to manage a working day that isn't all in one place.
Teams, Zoom, Slack & Google Workspace
The specific platforms in use vary by employer, but the underlying skills, such as joining a call, sharing your screen, or chatting alongside a meeting, transfer easily between them once you've used one confidently.
AI in the Workplace
AI tools are now built into everyday software — drafting emails, summarising documents, suggesting edits. You don't need to be an expert, just aware of what's on offer and comfortable trying it out.
Cyber Security Basics
Simple habits, such as locking your screen, questioning unexpected links, and keeping work and personal accounts separate, that most employers now expect as standard, and that are quick to pick up.
Digital Wellbeing
Managing notifications, screen time and the always-on feeling that can come with hybrid and remote work. Increasingly discussed openly in workplaces, rather than something you're expected to just cope with.
Online Professionalism
How you present yourself on video calls, in chat messages and on a LinkedIn profile. Norms have shifted — a bit more casual than a decade ago, but still worth getting right, especially early in a return to work.
Where to next
Return to Tech Pathways
Eight curated pathways with salary data and accredited programmes.
Confidence Hub
Interview and CV confidence, plus managing imposter syndrome.
Funding & Support
Skills Bootcamps, adult education and bursary routes.
Opportunities & Employer Insights
Returnships, apprenticeships and dedicated employer programmes.
Not sure which skills you need?
The Digital Skills Check takes two minutes and points you towards the areas most worth your time first.
Start the Digital Skills Check