Skillnaija All courses →

Computer & Microsoft Office Essentials

Start from zero: the computer, the keyboard, files and email, then Word, Excel, PowerPoint and the cloud tools every Nigerian office runs on.

Start learning free More Data & Tech courses

Free account required to open the lessons. No card, no fees.

About this course

Most job adverts in Nigeria say 'computer literate' and most people have to guess what that means. This course answers it properly, from the very beginning. You will learn what the parts of a computer are and how to look after one, how to type properly and use the keyboard shortcuts that make office work fast, how to keep files and folders so nothing gets lost, how to use the internet and email safely and professionally, how to write letters, memos and reports in Word, keep registers, trackers and budgets in Excel, build slides people can actually read in PowerPoint, and how to work with Outlook, Teams, Zoom, Google Drive, scanners and PDFs. Every lesson follows Halima, a new office assistant at a building-materials supplier in Ibadan, through her real working week, and every lesson ends with something you can now do at a desk. It is the foundation for the Excel for Work, Virtual Assistant and Data Analysis courses, and it is free, like every Skillnaija course.

Halima Yusuf's first Monday at Damilola & Sons, Ring Road, Ibadan. Oga Dami points at a grey laptop on the front desk: 'That one is yours. Mrs Eze will show you the invoice folder.' Halima has used an Android phone since secondary school, but she has never owned a computer. The lid is closed, a cable runs to the wall, and a black box with a blinking light under the desk is what Emeka, the Tuesday IT man, calls 'the inverter'. She lifts the lid. Nothing. She presses a key. Still nothing. Mrs Eze laughs kindly: 'Hold the power button, my dear.' By Friday, Halima will be the person in the office who knows exactly why the screen went black. This lesson is that Monday.

What you'll learn

Course syllabus — 12 lessons

  1. Meet the computer15 min
  2. The keyboard is your steering wheel16 min
  3. Files, folders and where things go16 min
  4. The internet, email and staying safe16 min
  5. Word 1: your first proper document16 min
  6. Word 2: documents that look professional17 min
  7. Excel 1: the grid15 min
  8. Excel 2: everyday office sheets16 min
  9. PowerPoint: slides people can read16 min
  10. Working together: Outlook, Teams, Zoom, Drive and the cloud16 min
  11. Keeping the computer healthy and the data safe16 min
  12. The office toolkit and the project17 min

Your project

Your Office Starter Pack

One shared folder link (Google Drive or OneDrive with view access) or one uploaded ZIP containing: the folder-tree screenshot, the Word files, the Excel workbook, the PowerPoint file and its PDF, and a document that holds the email text and the safety checklist. Everything fictional; no real personal data.

Certificates on Skillnaija are earned, not issued for attendance: you submit this project, it is graded against a rubric, and passing issues a certificate anyone can verify. See the full project brief, rubric and free workbook →

Frequently asked questions

Is Computer & Microsoft Office Essentials free?

Yes. Computer & Microsoft Office Essentials is completely free on Skillnaija. You need a free account to open the lessons, and there is no charge for the course, the project, or the certificate.

How long does Computer & Microsoft Office Essentials take to complete?

6 weeks · ~4 hrs/week. There are 12 lessons, about 3 hours of material in total. You learn at your own pace and your progress is saved.

Do I need any experience to start Computer & Microsoft Office Essentials?

Beginner. You can start from scratch — no prior experience is assumed.

What will I learn in Computer & Microsoft Office Essentials?

You will build practical skills in Computer basics and care, Touch typing and keyboard shortcuts, Files, folders and backups, Internet, email and online safety, Microsoft Word documents and mail merge, Microsoft Excel registers, trackers and charts, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, Outlook, Teams, Zoom and Google Drive, Scanning, PDFs and printing, Basic troubleshooting, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, Professional office communication. Every lesson is written for a Nigerian context, with examples drawn from how the work is actually done and paid for here.

Do I get a certificate for Computer & Microsoft Office Essentials?

Yes, but it has to be earned. You complete the course project — Your Office Starter Pack and submit it for grading. Passing the project issues a verifiable certificate; finishing the lessons alone does not.

Related Data & Tech courses

Ready to start Computer & Microsoft Office Essentials?

It's free, it's self-paced, and it ends with something you can show an employer.

Start learning free