A free learning path for Excel and Google Sheets in the UK: official tutorials, practice ideas, free courses and qualifications, what employers look for, and how to show your skills.
You don't need to pay for a course to get good at spreadsheets. High-quality free resources cover everything from the basics to advanced formulas. The key is practising with real tasks. Here's a structured path.
Stage 1: the basics (a week or two)
- entering and formatting data;
- simple formulas: +, −, *, / and SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT;
- relative and absolute references ($A$1);
- sorting and filtering;
- basic charts.
Free resources: Microsoft's Excel training videos on Microsoft Support, and the Google Sheets training and cheat sheets in the Google Workspace Learning Center.
Practise: build a monthly budget or a list of your bills.
Stage 2: everyday skills (a few weeks)
- IF, AND, OR;
- COUNTIF(S), SUMIF(S), AVERAGEIF(S);
- XLOOKUP (and recognising VLOOKUP, which you'll meet in older files);
- text functions: LEFT, RIGHT, MID, TRIM, TEXTJOIN, TEXTSPLIT;
- date functions: TODAY, EDATE, NETWORKDAYS;
- Tables, data validation and conditional formatting;
- pivot tables.
Practise: download a free public dataset, such as from data.gov.uk or the ONS, and summarise it with a pivot table.
Stage 3: intermediate to advanced
- dynamic arrays: FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE, SEQUENCE;
- LET and LAMBDA;
- Power Query (Excel) or QUERY (Sheets);
- charts and dashboards;
- introductory macros, Office Scripts or Apps Script.
Practise: build a dashboard that updates when new data is added.
Free courses and qualifications
- Microsoft Learn offers free modules, and Microsoft Office Specialist exams are available for a fee if you want a formal certificate.
- Free adult courses in England: adults without certain qualifications can study essential digital skills qualifications free, and Skills Bootcamps offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks in digital and data skills, with eligibility conditions. Search on GOV.UK.
- Local colleges and libraries often run free or low-cost digital skills sessions.
- Online course platforms sometimes let you audit courses for free, without a certificate.
What employers look for?
For many office roles, employers want confidence with formulas, lookups, pivot tables, data cleaning and clear presentation. Analyst roles add Power Query, data modelling and sometimes VBA or SQL. Check job adverts in your target field to see which skills come up most.
Show your skills
- Build a small portfolio of spreadsheets using public data, with notes on what each shows.
- Describe specific achievements on your CV, such as "built a pivot-table report that cut monthly reporting time".
- Be ready for practical tests in interviews.
A sample four-week plan
| Week | Learn | Build |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Formatting, SUM/AVERAGE, absolute references, sorting and filtering | A monthly budget |
| 2 | IF, COUNTIFS, SUMIFS, data validation | A bills tracker with drop-down categories |
| 3 | XLOOKUP, text and date functions, Tables | A contacts or stock list that looks up prices |
| 4 | Pivot tables, charts, conditional formatting | A one-page summary of a public dataset |
Keep each finished file. Together they become your portfolio. If you don't have Excel, do every exercise in Excel for the web or Google Sheets, both free with an account; the formulas in this plan work in all three.
Tips for learning faster
- Practise little and often, say 20 minutes a day.
- Learn keyboard shortcuts, such as Ctrl + Arrow keys to jump through data.
- Use your own real tasks.
- When stuck, read the function's help page; both apps link to it from the formula bar.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to learn Excel?
The basics take days; becoming confident with intermediate skills usually takes a few weeks to months of practice.
Should I learn Excel or Sheets first?
Either. The skills transfer.
Sources and further reading
- Microsoft Support: Excel video training
- Google Workspace Learning Center: Sheets
- Microsoft Learn
- GOV.UK: Skills Bootcamps
- data.gov.uk
Facts checked on 20 October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.