Kickstart your digital career

The free course that gives you the digital skills you need

START WITH CLICK START.

Are you 18-30? Living in London? Earning £25,000 or less per year?

Click Start shows you how to collect, manage and utilise digital data. You’ll work towards qualifications in Google Digital Garage and Microsoft Office Specialist. Your new digital skills can help you open-up new opportunities and get better pay. What are you waiting for? Apply today!

Think about digital

Digital jobs pay
£8k more a year1.

850,000 digital job
vacancies in the UK2.

82% of jobs now
need digital skills3.

“Tech doesn’t always mean software engineering. There’s a huge variety of different roles. Every business needs digital skills. And whatever you want to do, you’ll do it better with digital skills.”

- Amber Shand
Software Developer

FAQ’s

All you need is an open mind. You don’t need experience. You don’t need to have been to university. All you need is curiosity and be ready to learn new things. Maybe you want a new direction? Maybe you want to upskill? Maybe you want a raise or promotion in your current role? Click Start gives you the head start you need.

Working in partnership ‘Be the Business’, The University of East London and Forward provide a free, in-person, 4-week programme.
Participants are taught key essential digital skills for the workplace.

Working with some of the best digital experts in their fields (known as ‘Avengers’) and have the opportunity to put these skills into practice. Click Start participants will be given the opportunity to:

  • Gain industry-recognised digital qualifications on Google Digital Garage.
  • Plan their future career, with tailored careers advice, CV writing, job application support and focused job-hunting support. Supported by a Forward Employability Trainer.
  • Solve real-life business challenges networking with Small and Medium Sized Employers owners.
  • Solve real-life business challenges networking with Small and Medium Sized Employers Entrepreneurs or Avengers. They will help participants to put their learning into practice working to solve real technological problems and an opportunity to be mentored by the Avengers.
  • Attend a graduation event called a Hackathon and to work with the Avengers and IT professionals to create a software or hardware solution to a specific digital problem.  There will be a celebration at the end of the Hackathon and an opportunity to meet and network with employers and apprenticeship providers.
  • Receive free job coaching for six months after the programme and to meet employers and apprenticeship provides with real jobs to interview for.

They will also be given ongoing job coaching and mentoring support to help participants get into a job, self employment or apprenticeship.

Click Start is designed to support under-represented groups. The aim is to give you the digital skills you need to find a better job. Or get better pay. Or simply do what you want to do in life. For a FREE place, check if ALL of the following criteria apply to you:

  • You are aged 18-30.
  • You live in London, and have the right to live and work in the UK.
  • You have a personal yearly income of £25,000 or under, or you are currently unemployed.
  • You want a job or apprenticeship in Data Analysis or Digital Marketing.

If you are not eligible for this programme, you may be eligible for our other courses. Take a look at our Click Start course listings to find the course that’s best for you.

The upcoming courses start in

Feb 2025 & Mar 25, University of East London, Docklands E16 2RD

Cohort Start Dates: 10/02/2025 & 10/03/2025
Cohort End Dates: 07/03/2025 & 05/04/2025

You can view the most up-to-date available dates here.

If you meet the eligibility criteria, then it’s completely free. And no, there’s no catch. This programme has been developed in partnership with the Institute of Coding and has been funded by Nominet to help reduce the UK’s digital skills gap.

Please note, costs incurred from travel and refreshments required to take part in the programme may be fully repaid upon completion.

The course will be delivered all in-person at the University of East London, Docklands E16 2RD, typically Monday to Friday. Essential digital skills will be taught to you by some of the best digital experts in their fields.

For every module you successfully complete, your new-found digital skills will be recognised with a certificate from Click Start and the University of East London.

If you sign up to a Click Start programme, you’ll also get access to GetMyFirstDigitalJob, an online platform designed to help you find and land a digital job. It’s your new hub for jobs, support, and guidance for your digital career.

You’ll get access to job opportunities from employers looking for fresh talent, and a dedicated careers coach who’ll give you one-on-one support to guide you through your job search journey. There’s also learning modules to boost your employability skills in the areas you need them most, and exclusive live events where you can get your questions answered by experts from across the digital industry.

There’s never been a better reason to join a Click Start programme!

GetMyFirstDigitalJob was built by BCS and The Talent People to support the Click Start programme.

This course is part of Click Start, a nationwide training programme developed by the Institute of Coding (IoC), a national collaboration of universities, employers and charities and funded by Nominet – the public benefit company and guardians of the .UK namespace.

The programme, which launched in 2023, helps to tackle the UK’s digital skills gap by offering skills and training to more than 26,500 learners across the country who may not have previously had opportunities.