Free Online Training for Computer Skills and More

Do you know someone who needs a little help with learning some basic everyday skills? Perhaps you know a teenager who needs help learning how to complete a job application or maybe you know someone who needs to learn some basic computer skills to improve their situation at work. There's a wonderful site, thanks to the Goodwill Community Foundation (GCF) that can help with teaching these skills and many more. The site can be found at www.gcflearnfree.org/.

This website offers tutorials in five categories: Everyday, Math & Money, Computer Training, Online Classes and Work & Career. Each category offers video tutorials on everything from how to set the power and time on a microwave for cooking to learning computer skills like Excel to how to write your next resume.

The Everyday Category would be great for younger people. There are sub-categories under the Everyday category that teach skills that are very helpful and necessary in everyday life. The sub-categories offered are: Food, Money, Work, Shopping, Maps/Plans/Schedules, Billing and Budgeting and Word Match.

The Math & Money category offers sub-categories on: Math Basics, Money Basics, and 2008 Tax Credits. These sub-categories cover an assortment of topics like basic math skills, including adding, subtracting, multiplication, and division. It also covers fractions, decimals, and percents. The Money Basics section teaches money management, retirement and banking, and money in the marketplace like shopping, renting a place to live and buying a house. The 2008 Tax Credits section, though it's from last year this information could still be helpful for the upcoming tax year. It can help teach about the items that qualify for tax credits on a persons' tax return.

The Computer Training category is a place for people to learn many different computer skills that could help them in the workplace. Everything is available to learn on a self-pace basis. There are modules on computer basics like the Internet, emailing, Internet safety, even Facebook. There's another section that teaches how to use different software including: Word, Excel, Power Point and more. The software skills are for new 2007 versions, though there are training modules available for the older versions of the software.

Anyone wanting to learn a new software skill can either read the module and work at their own pace or for those who prefer a more structured style of training GCF offers instructor assisted training. The best part is that classes start throughout the day, so people don't have to wait until a specific day or month to enroll in a class. This option not provides a new skill, but CEU's (continuing education units) are awarded. Plus after successfully completing the course a certificate is available to print out for the student's records.

The Work & Career category covers subjects like resume writing, career development, cover letters and the workplace. Here people can learn everything from choosing the correct resume format to reading informative articles about many topics including how Facebook can hurt a person's job search.

Again *all* the classes offered at www.gcflearnfree.org are free. There are no charges of any kind, and this includes the instructor led tutorials. This website has helped over 271,000 people from all over the world learn new skills. In case you're wondering how all this information can be offered for free, it's thanks to donations received at GCF donation centers and stores located throughout eastern North Carolina (the state where GCF is headquartered).

Sources:
http://www.gcfcommunityfoundation.org/