Digital Literacy & Workplace Foundations
Everything a first office job expects you to know about computers, in short lessons with a practical task in every module. Free, with a Certificate of Completion.
FreeCertificate of Completion on your Skills Passport
- Duration
- 22 modules, about 45 hours
- Mode
- Online or at an e-Learning Cafe
- Credential
- Certificate of Completion
- Assessment
- Module quizzes and a practical task per module; the capstone can be assessed by a NIBS facilitator
- Access
- Free
What is this programme?
Digital Literacy & Workplace Foundations is the free NIBS foundation course. It takes you from switching a computer on to using email, the internet, shared documents, spreadsheets, AI tools and basic security with confidence, in short lessons that use South African examples.
Every module ends with a check-yourself quiz and a practical task. The tasks build a portfolio you can show an employer. The word, spreadsheet and presentation modules are a first look.
Who is it for?
Beginners, jobseekers, new learners and people returning to learning. If you use a phone well but have never had to use a laptop for a job, this is for you. No prior experience is needed.
What will I be able to do?
The core of the course (modules 1 to 12, 15, 21 and 22) is what a first office job expects. The other seven modules are optional and just as free.
Module 1: Welcome to technology
- What a computer actually does, why it matters for work in South Africa, and how the machine stores everything as ones and zeros.
- How this course works
- Computers in everyday life
- Input, processing, storage and output
- Bits, bytes and how computers count
Module 2: Keyboard skills and working comfortably
- Typing without looking, and sitting so that a day at a computer does not hurt.
- Why typing speed matters, and how to sit
- Letters: the home row and beyond
- Words, sentences and numbers
Module 3: Being a good digital citizen
- Your online reputation, other people's work, and how to tell real information from noise.
- Digital citizenship and empathy online
- Your digital footprint and personal brand
- Other people's work: copyright and plagiarism
- Media literacy: facts, opinions and fakes
Module 4: The internet, searching and social media
- What the internet is, how to use a browser like a professional, how to find reliable answers, and how to use social platforms for work.
- What the internet actually is
- Using a browser like a professional
- Searching and researching properly
- Social media for work, not just for fun
Module 5: Protecting yourself online
- Your personal data, strong passwords, the scams that target South Africans, safe browsing, and looking after your mental health in a connected world.
- Your personal data and who wants it
- Passwords, passphrases and encryption
- Scams, phishing and social engineering
- Browsing and shopping safely
- Technology and your mental health
Module 6: Using generative AI wisely
- What AI chat tools are good for, how to get useful answers, and where the risks lie.
- What AI is, and what it is not
- Writing a prompt that works
- Using AI responsibly at work
Module 7: Computers, Windows and files
- The operating system, finding your way around Windows, and keeping files where you and your colleagues can find them.
- What an operating system does
- Finding your way around Windows
- Files and folders that make sense
- Settings, accounts and keeping Windows healthy
- Accessibility: making your computer easier to use
- The command line, a first look
- Backups and storage that survives
Module 8: Applications and software
- The kinds of software offices use, where to get it safely, and the tools they have in common.
- The software offices run on
- Getting, installing and removing software safely
- Tools every program shares
Module 9: Word processing
- Letters, CVs, minutes and reports that look professional and are easy to update.
- A document from blank page to PDF
- Formatting text and paragraphs
- Pages, tables and images
- Review tools and a professional CV
Module 10: Spreadsheets
- Excel and Sheets for lists, budgets and records: entering data, formulas that do the arithmetic, and charts that explain it.
- What a spreadsheet is for
- Entering and formatting data
- Formulas and functions
- Sorting, filtering, tables and charts
Module 11: Presentations
- Slides that support a speaker instead of replacing one, and the confidence to present them.
- Building a slide deck
- Text, images and layout on slides
- Transitions, animations and presenting well
Module 12: Email, calendars and communication tools
- Professional email, a calendar you can trust, and the right tool for each conversation.
- Choosing the right channel
- Email that gets read and answered
- Netiquette and difficult messages
- Chat, calls and video meetings
- Calendars and meetings
Module 15: Cloud computing and virtual machines
- Where "the cloud" actually is, how to use cloud storage and shared documents well, and what virtualisation means.
- What the cloud is
- Cloud storage and shared documents
- Cloud storage in practice: upload, share and restore
- Virtual machines and remote desktops
Module 21: Working together online
- Sharing one document instead of ten copies, giving and answering feedback, keeping contacts and tasks in order, and choosing the right shared space for the right message.
- Working on one document with other people
- Comments, suggestions and track changes
- Contacts, tasks and to-do lists
- Shared calendars, team spaces and where messages belong
Module 22: Digital habits for a South African workplace
- Working with data costs and load shedding, looking for work online without being scammed, using WhatsApp and email professionally, and using official online services safely.
- Data costs, load shedding and working offline
- Looking for work online, safely
- WhatsApp, email and the professional line
- Government and business services online
Module 13: How computers are built (optional)
- What is inside the box, how to connect devices, and what the numbers on a specification sheet mean when you buy or fix a computer.
- Reading a specification
- Connecting devices: ports, printers and power
- Bluetooth, USB drives and wireless connections
- Inside the case: motherboard, CPU, memory and graphics
Module 14: Networks and connecting to the internet (optional)
- How devices talk to each other, the connections available in South Africa, setting up a small network, and fixing it when it breaks.
- What a network does
- Routers, modems, ISPs and the ways to connect
- Setting up a small network
- Troubleshooting connectivity, step by step
Module 16: Keeping devices and networks secure (optional)
- Malware, the basic security habits that stop it, the tools on every computer, and a safe small network.
- Malware and how it arrives
- The basic security habits
- Security tools on every computer
- Securing a small network
Module 17: Databases and structured information (optional)
- When a spreadsheet is not enough: what a database is, how records and tables relate, and how the systems at work store your data.
- What a database is and when you need one
- Using a simple database at work
- Relational databases and big data, briefly
Module 18: Telling computers what to do: a first look at coding (optional)
- What code is, how to plan a small program, and the ideas every programming language shares. Not a programming course; the door to one.
- What code is
- Planning a program with pseudocode
- Variables, data types and operators
- Decisions, loops and debugging
- Functions, lists and objects
Module 19: Using technology to plan and innovate (optional)
- Running a small project with digital tools, and the technologies changing work in the next few years.
- Planning a project with digital tools
- Carrying out and closing a project
- The technologies changing work
Module 20: Capstone: use technology to solve a real problem (optional)
- Everything in one piece of work: choose a real problem, design a digital solution, build it with the tools from this course, and present it.
- Information systems and when technology goes wrong
- Your capstone project brief
- Build, test and present
What will I actually do?
Work through the lessons at your own pace, online or at an e-Learning Cafe. Do the "Try it now" steps on a real computer. Pass each module's quiz (75%) and submit its practical task.
How long does it take?
About 29 hours for the core, or 45 hours with the optional modules. At 3 to 5 hours a week that is 8 to 10 weeks for the core. Faster if you already know some of it.
How will I study?
Online through NIBS Campus on any device, or at an e-Learning Cafe with computers, internet and a facilitator.
What evidence will I produce?
A practical task in each module (documents, spreadsheets, screenshots, a short video, a small program), saved in your NIBS folder and submitted in the campus. The capstone project can be assessed by a NIBS facilitator.
Every submission moves through the same states:
- Assigned
- In progress
- Submitted
- Under review
- Competent
- Resubmission required
- Closed
What credential do I receive?
A free Certificate of Completion when the core modules are complete. It records that you completed the learning; it is not an assessment of competence. No CPD or external recognition is claimed.
What does it cost?
Free. A free NIBS Campus account is all you need.
How do I start?
- Create a free accountName, email, password.
- StartThe course is in your campus straight away.
- Go furtherThe Microsoft 365 Workplace Productivity Skill Courses build on modules 9 to 11.