💻 Workforce Digital Skills
A practical Adult Basic Education course in the digital skills today's workplace expects — the ones on job descriptions everywhere: email and calendars, documents, spreadsheets, video meetings, online applications, and workplace collaboration tools. Whether you're returning to work, changing careers, or moving up, these are the skills that get you hired and help you succeed on the job. Every lesson is hands-on and aligned to Northstar Digital Literacy standards.
📚 About This Course
This course is for adults who want the workplace digital skills employers ask for. Maybe you can use a phone but have never worked with a spreadsheet; maybe you're comfortable online at home but unsure how office email, shared files, or video meetings work; maybe it's been years since you were in a workplace and the tools have changed. Wherever you're starting, this course builds real, job-ready skills, step by step, and treats you as the capable adult you are.
It is workplace-focused and Northstar-aligned. You'll do the actual tasks of a modern job: write a professional email, build a simple spreadsheet with a formula, format a document, join and run a video meeting, apply for a job online, and use workplace chat and shared drives — plus the digital professionalism (your online footprint, information literacy, problem-solving) that employers value.
💡 How this differs from "Digital & Life Skills"
The ABE Digital & Life Skills course covers everyday digital life — using a phone, personal email, staying safe online, and handling bills and services. This course is about the workplace: office software, spreadsheets, professional email, video meetings, online applications, and workplace collaboration. If you're new to devices entirely, start with Digital & Life Skills; if you're ready for job-focused skills, you're in the right place. They pair well together.
🎯 A note on Northstar & software versions
This course is built around Northstar Digital Literacy skill areas, but it builds the skills — the official Northstar assessment and certificate are taken separately at sponsoring sites (many libraries, adult-education programs, and workforce centers offer them free). Also, software names and menus differ by product and version (for example, Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs), so we focus on the transferable skills and general steps; always check the exact buttons in the version you use.
What You'll Be Able to Do
- Use a work computer confidently — files, folders, saving, and the operating system
- Write professional email and manage a calendar and meetings
- Work safely online at work — strong passwords, multi-factor login, privacy
- Create and format professional documents in a word processor
- Build and use spreadsheets — data, simple formulas, sorting
- Make presentations and collaborate on shared, cloud-based files
- Search and apply for jobs online and keep a professional profile
- Join and run video meetings and use workplace communication tools
- Manage your digital footprint and solve everyday tech problems
Who This Course Is For
- Adult learners building job-ready digital skills at their own pace
- Job seekers and career changers facing online applications and digital workplaces
- Workers who want to move up and need stronger office/computer skills
- Workforce, tutoring, and classroom programs — every lesson includes paired and group options
- Tutors and teachers looking for a Northstar-aligned, workplace-focused digital syllabus
🌱 You can learn this
If office software or spreadsheets have felt intimidating, that's normal — these are learned skills, not talents you're born with, and this course spells them out plainly with lots of hands-on practice. All you need is access to a computer (a library computer works — and Digital & Life Skills or your library can help you get started). One step at a time, you've got this.
📖 The 12 Lessons
Work through the lessons in order — each builds on the last, from computer foundations, to documents and spreadsheets, to working and communicating online, to digital professionalism. Each lesson adds a page to your "My Workplace Digital Toolkit" folder, which becomes your capstone.
Module 1 · Workplace Computer Foundations
Get comfortable with computers, files, and operating systems at work; use professional email and calendars; and work safely online.
Module 2 · Documents & Spreadsheets
Create professional documents, build and use spreadsheets, and make presentations and collaborate in the cloud.
Module 3 · Working & Communicating Online
Search and apply for jobs online, join and run video meetings, and use the communication tools modern workplaces rely on.
Module 4 · Digital Professionalism & Next Steps
Manage your digital footprint and online professionalism, build information-literacy and problem-solving skills, and assemble your toolkit.
🗺️ Where This Fits
Workforce Digital Skills is one course in a growing Adult Basic Education program. Here's where it sits alongside the others:
| Course | Focus | You can… |
|---|---|---|
| Reading & Writing | Foundational literacy | Read everyday texts, write sentences & paragraphs, handle forms |
| Math & Numeracy | Everyday math | Handle money, measurement, time, and basic calculation |
| Digital & Life Skills | Everyday digital basics | Use a phone, personal email, and online services with confidence |
| GED / HSE Prep | High-school equivalency | Prepare for the high-school-equivalency exam |
| Workforce Readiness | Getting & keeping a job | Find work, apply, interview, and succeed on the job |
| Financial Literacy | Managing your money | Budget, bank, save, handle credit & debt, avoid scams |
| Civics & Citizenship | Civic life & citizenship | Understand U.S. government & rights, navigate your community, prepare for naturalization |
| Career Exploration & Pathways | Choosing & planning a career | Explore careers, research the job market, and plan an education-to-career path |
| CDL Pathway Bridge (IET) | Reading & math for trucking | Build the skills to succeed in CDL training and a driving/logistics career |
| Healthcare / CNA Bridge (IET) | Reading & math for caregiving | Build the skills to succeed in CNA training and a healthcare career |
| Manufacturing & Trades Bridge (IET) | Reading & shop math for the trades | Build the skills to succeed in trades training/apprenticeships and a career |
| Workforce Digital Skills | Job-ready digital skills | Use office software, email, spreadsheets, video meetings & online applications |
| Health Literacy | Understanding & using health information | Read labels & forms, navigate care & insurance, and talk with your doctor |
| College & Career Transition | Reading & study skills for the next step | Read & study at a college level and transition to postsecondary study |
This course is workplace-focused and Northstar-aligned. It complements the everyday-focused Digital & Life Skills, and pairs closely with Workforce Readiness (applying and interviewing) and Career Exploration & Pathways (planning your path).
🎯 Standards Alignment
This course is built around Northstar Digital Literacy standards and is designed to be useful to programs funded under WIOA Title II (the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act). It targets the digital-literacy workforce-preparation activity named in the law, applied to the modern workplace.
- Northstar Digital Literacy — Essential Computer Skills (basic computer, internet, email, operating systems), Essential Software Skills (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations), and Using Technology in Daily Life (career search, information literacy, your digital footprint)
- WIOA workforce preparation: digital literacy, using information, communication, self-management, problem-solving
- CCRS — College & Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education (reading informational/technical text; writing)
- NRS — supports Educational Functioning Levels (ABE/ASE) and Measurable Skill Gains reporting
Framework-general; frameworks (Northstar/WIOA/AEFLA/CCRS/NRS) apply nationally. This course builds the skills; the official Northstar Digital Literacy assessment and certificate are earned separately at sponsoring sites (libraries, adult-education programs, workforce centers). Software names and menus vary by product and version — the transferable skills are the focus. Confirm current specifics with the Nevada Department of Education / CRAELO and your state's WIOA plan.
🧭 How to Study This Course
- One lesson at a time, in order. There's no clock on you. The skills build on each other.
- Practice on a real computer. Digital skills stick only by doing — a library computer works great if you don't have one at home.
- Keep one folder. Start a "My Workplace Digital Toolkit" folder (paper or digital). Each lesson adds a page, and together they become your capstone.
- Don't fear mistakes. You can't break the computer by trying — clicking around and undoing (Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z) is how you learn.
- Keep the journal. Five minutes of reflection after each lesson doubles what you remember.
- Aim for Northstar. When you're ready, take the free official Northstar assessment at a sponsoring library or program to earn a certificate you can show employers.
🧠 A word before you begin
The workplace has gone digital, and catching up can feel daunting — but every skill here is learnable, and you don't need to be "a computer person." You need practice and patience, and this course gives you both. Add the word yet: "I can't build a spreadsheet yet." Let's build your digital confidence. 🌱