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The government has launched a new online platform offering free training courses that it hopes will allow citizens to use time spent at home to acquire new skills.

The Skills Toolkit service offers a range of “high-quality digital and numeracy courses”. The government said the training could help provide expertise that is prized by employers, and will allow those staying at home – particularly employees that have been furloughed – to spend time boosting their skills.

An array of courses are available, addressing a wide range of existing levels of knowledge. Included on the platform is guidance on basic maths, and using email and social media in a professional context. 

There are also more in-depth offering, including a course on how to “create great online content” developed by the University of Leeds and the Institute of Coding, a digital marketing programme from Google, and an Open University course on coding for data analytics.

The government said that citizens are encouraged to take all courses “at their own pace”.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “I know how difficult the recent months have been and the huge changes the coronavirus has brought on the daily lives of us all. The high-quality and free to access courses on offer on our new online learning platform, The Skills Toolkit, will help those whose jobs have been affected by the outbreak, and people looking to boost their skills while they are staying at home, protecting the NHS and saving lives.”

He added: “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.”