Get the help you need to succeed

Call us free on 0800 101 901 from 7am to 11pm, seven days a week.

A Typetalk service is available for learners who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired.

Email us using the contact us forms.

Or

Write to us at:
learndirect
PO Box 900
Leicester
LE1 6ER

If you are a learner in Scotland please contact learndirect Scotland on 0808 100 9000. The line is available Monday - Friday from 8am to 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm. 

Get in touch and you can speak to one of our friendly advisors who'll book an appointment at a centre. When you pop in, we'll ask you some questions to find out what you want to do and how we can help.

No pressure. No hassle.

When you enrol you'll get your own tutor who will be available in the centre, at the end of a phone line or on email to help you. He or she won't put you under and pressure, so it's nothing like school! And if you don't now how to use a computer, they'll help you with the basics and get you started. If you are comfortable learning on your own, we have a range of courses that you can buy online, which have all the support you need to complete the courses built in.

Courses start from as little as £19.99 but depending on your circumstances you may pay the full price, a reduced price - or nothing as funding is available to help in many case. Find out more here.

We can help you get the skills you need to get the job you want, start a business, get on at work, help your children with their homework, or work towards a qualification - we can even train people who work for you.

As learndirect courses are computer-based you can learn wherever suits you best;

• at any of our learndirect centres,
• at home
• or anywhere where you can access the internet e.g your local library.

Some of our courses are also available on work books or CD-Rom.

If you want to check if your computer will work with learndirect courses read ‘Will learndirect courses work on my computer?’

View the learning with learndirect section, to get a feel for what to expect. See how other learners have benefited, and what it's like to learn at a learndirect centre.

Learning with learndirect is different as you can fit your learning around your life. You can learn at your own pace, in bite sized chunks at a time to suit you. You can do your learning from a learndirect centre, your home, work or wherever you have access to the internet.

learndirect courses are broken down into topics which are interactive and fun - not like reading a textbook. You can follow the topics in any order, and depending on what you need, you can skip some topics or repeat others.

All learndirect courses provide activities where you can practice what you have learnt and see what progress you are making. Many assessments will give you immediate feedback, so you know straight away how you are getting on.

You will have access to a tutor who will regularly review your progress and provide help when you need it, and when you finish your course they will help you to decide on what you would like to do next.

It's easy.

If you want to do an eCourse you can start straight away. Go to the eCourses catalogue and choose a course.

Alternatively;

1. Browse our other courses
2. Find and contact your local learndirect centre
3. Come in and register
4. Begin your course – you can then learn either at the centre, at home, or anywhere with Internet access.

If you think you might be eligible for funding or if you've got a learning goal but are not sure which course will help you get there - visit your nearest centre to speak to a tutor. You can also call our helpline on 0800 101 901, lines open from 7am to 11pm, seven days a week.

We were was set up by Ufi ltd in 1998 to improve skills to help people find a job, change careers or progress at work. In ten years learndirect has become a nationally recognised brand for learning with the largest e-learning network of its kind in the world.

Our courses range from top up skills in English and maths, through to NVQs - all of which are designed in bite sized chunks to be completed at a time, pace and place that fits around your schedule.

You can access your course anywhere there's broadband, for example at home, at work or one of nearly 800 centres dotted around the country.

Our objectives

• Reach those with few skills and qualifications who are unlikely to take part in traditional forms of learning
• Equip people with the skills they need for employability, thereby strengthening the skills of the workforce and increasing the country's productivity
• Deliver all this innovatively through the use of new technologies
   

How we achieve

We deliver our unique range of educational training products in two ways:

learndirect Skills and Qualifications
learndirect operates a network of more than 750 online learning centres in England and Wales. These provide flexible learning for adults wanting to improve existing skills or to learn new ones.

We offer around 630 different courses covering a range of subjects, including management, IT and Skills for Life at all levels.

learndirect Business
learndirect Business appreciates every employer is different, therefore we've developed flexible e-learning in all our business focused courses.

We believe learndirect Business has something to offer employers of all sizes, whether from the private, voluntary or public sector and that is why we have developed separate approaches to working with small businesses, Sector Skills Councils and large employers.

We believe this is fundamental to raise UK skills' levels and to increase business productivity.

Read more about us.

Reading with your children is a great way to improve their maths and English skills - as well as yours. That's why we've produced this book called 'Where did the river go?'

It is not your normal storybook. To follow Plip and Dab on their adventure, you and your children have to solve puzzles designed to test your English and maths skills.

How to claim your free book

To get your free copy of 'Where did the river go?'* you need to register your details and print out a voucher from the Where did the river go? website.

If you don't have an email address or printer, don't worry. We can text the voucher to your mobile or you can register at your nearest learndirect centre.

*This offer is open to residents in England and Wales only over 18 years of age. A maximum of one voucher per household is permitted.

The 'Nothing Can Stop You'  book is being written to support you with your journey of gaining new skills and qualifications.

It gives you tips, tools and ideas and exercises to help you get started and achieve your goals.

You can pre-order your copy by filling in the online form.

Test Your PC to see if your computer meets the minimum computer specifications for learndirect

Please check the course catalogue for technical requirements for your specific course.

Minimum Computer Specification

The minimum computer specification currently supported by learndirect is:

• Operating System: Win Xp, Windows Vista
• Processor: 2.5GHz
• RAM: 512MB with upgradable capacity to 1GB
• Hard Disk Drive: 2GB free space
• Video Card: 64MB RAM
• Screen Resolution: XGA (1024 x 768)
• 
  

Currently only the learndirect website and its application are supported against Windows Vista. However, some learndirect courses are not currently supported. Will learndirect courses work with Microsoft Vista and Microsoft Internet Explorer 7?

Recommended Computer Specification

The recommended computer specification supported by learndirect is:

• Operating System: Win Xp
• Processor: 2.5GHz
• RAM: 1GB
• Hard Disk Drive: 2GB free space
• Video Card: 64MB RAM
• Screen Resolution: XGA (1024 x 768)
• IE 6.0, 7.0, Firefox 2.0 is available for some courses and all applications. Please check the course catalogue for technical requirements for your specific course.
• CD Drive 24x speed
• Sound Card (16 bit)
• Speakers or Headphones
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Online bandwidth c.80kbps per session
• All latest critical and recommended Windows security patches, available from the Windows update site
• Internet standard multimedia webplayers- Do I need particular software to access my course e.g Flash, Authorware?

You can access 'Test My PC' and check whether your computer should work with learndirect courses.

Please contact us for further information.

'Test My PC' is a tool which will check if your computer can use the learndirect website and learndirect courses.

'Test My PC' will measure your computer's specifications against the following criteria to make sure it meets the minimum requirements, and, if necessary, tells you what you would need to do to make your computer meets those requirements.

• Your operating system (eg the version of Windows you have)
• Your internet browser (eg the version of Explorer you have)
• If you have any pop-up blocking software installed that can stop the learndirect website opening up new windows.
• Your screen resolution
• If JavaScript is enabled within your internet browser - Javascript is needed to run some courses
• The additional software installed on your computer which are required for some learndirect courses (e.g. Authorware Player).

'Test My PC' and check whether your computer should work with learndirect courses.

Please call us free on 0800 101 901 if you need more help. This line is open from 7am to 11pm - seven days a week.

Information about learndirect and Microsoft Vista

Windows Vista is the latest version of the Windows operating system to be released by Microsoft. Windows Vista comes in various versions and currently the learndirect website and its applications are supported against Windows Vista. Please note, however, that some learndirect courses are not supported against this operating system.

Please check the course catalogue for technical requirements for your specific course

Information about learndirect and Microsoft Internet Explorer 7

Internet Explorer 7 is the latest browser to be introduced by Microsoft. Some of our courses are not supported by IE7. Please check the course catalogue for technical requirements for your specific course.

How to check which operating system or browser you have installed on your computer

If you are uncertain which operating system or browser you have installed on your computer then please use the ‘Test My PC’ diagnostic tool. ‘Test My PC’ will help you check whether your computer meets the minimum specifications to successfully use the learndirect website and learndirect courses.

Please call us free on 0800 101 901 if you need more help. This line is open from 7am to 11pm - 7 days a week.

Some learndirect courses will require additional software (often referred to as 'plugins' or 'players') in order for the course to run successfully.  By using the search function on the learndirect course catalogue you can see which player/s is/are required for your learndirect course.

In most cases you can download the players for free from the developer's website.

We have provided the relevant links below. These links will take you to the relevant website where you can download the player that you require for your learndirect course. We have also included test links that will allow you to test whether your computer has the relevant player installed.

Authorware Player

Please follow the instructions to install Authorware v5.2 first followed by Authorware v7.

(Note: please do not install Authoware v7 first as this will prevent the installation of Authorware v5.2).

• Get the Authorware Player v5.2 (free download)
• Get the Authorware Player v7 (free download)

To test whether your computer already has the Authorware player installed, please click the link below. An Authorware player movie will play if the software is setup correctly on your computer.

Test your Authorware Player

Flash Player

Get the Flash Player (free download)

(Note: We recommend that you untick the option to download the Yahoo toolbar).

To test whether your computer already has the Flash player installed, please click the test link below. A Flash player movie will play if the software is setup correctly on your computer.

Test your Flash Player

Java Player

Get the Java Player (free download)

To test whether your computer already has the Java player installed, please click the test link below. If the Java Player is setup correctly on your computer you will see some animation built in Java.

Test your Java Player

Shockwave Player

Get the Shockwave Player (free download)

To test whether your computer already has the Shockwave player installed, please click the test link below. If the Shockwave player is setup correctly on your computer you will be able to load and play a Shockwave based game.

Test your Shockwave Player

Adobe Reader

Adobe Reader allows you to view and print Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

Get the Adobe Reader (free download)

(Note: We recommend that you untick the option to download the Yahoo toolbar).

Please contact us for further information or call the helpline on 0800 101 901. Lines are open from 7am to 11pm, seven days a week.

First find your nearest centre - then telephone them or send them an email.

Alterntively you can book an appointment online.

You can use the online search to find your nearest learndirect centre.

Just enter your postcode or the name of the place you live and click ‘search’,  and the results will then list the nearest centres to you.

The results will also provide the contact details, type of courses offered and facilities available for each of the centres.

Find a centre offering your chosen course

If you know what course you would like to do, then you can find your nearest learndirect centre that offers this learning.

To do this you will need to:

1. Search for your course on the learndirect website.
2. Select your chosen course from the result list
3. On the right hand side of the screen you will see a green box which says – ‘Search for a centre that offers this course’
4. In this box enter your street, town or postcode and click ‘search’.
5. The results will then list the nearest centres to you, which offer your chosen course.

If you cannot find a centre near to you please call the learndirect helpline on 0800 101 901 open from 7am to 11pm - seven days a week.

We have hundreds of learndirect centres so it's likely there will be one near you. You will find them almost anywhere: on the high street, in leisure and community centres, colleges, and libraries.

Your learndirect centre can help you get started on a course and will provide you with access to a computer to do your learning.

There are a range of helpful facilities and services on offer at learndirect centres - most offering some or all of the following:

• free internet access for your learning
• crèches
• cafés
• parking

It varies from centre to centre so check with your local learndirect centre what they have to offer.

learndirect is committed to providing you with the best possible learning experience.

As a learndirect learner, you will have access to:

• A tutor - to help you complete your course and achieve your goals (the Learner Promise gives you more information about tutor support).
• Your online Learning Pages - which will enable you to plan and manage your learning and contact your tutor.
• The learndirect helpline - which provides help and advice to learners on all aspects of learndirect.  The helpline 0800 101 901 is open from 7am to 11pm  seven days a week. 

Your feedback helps us to improve, so please contact us to tell us what you like, make a suggestion or comment, ask a question or make a complaint.