Learn Excel Through a Task You Need to Complete
People usually look for Excel training because a real task has become difficult: a monthly report takes too long, formulas keep breaking, a job advert asks for pivot tables, or an interview includes a spreadsheet test. One-to-one training starts with that task and works backwards to the skills needed to complete it reliably.
Sessions are taught by Kevin Johal, a qualified teacher with an MEd in Educational Technology and Learning Design. The aim is not to memorise a long list of functions. It is to understand how tables, references, formulas and checks work together so the method transfers to the next workbook.
Beginner, intermediate or advanced Excel: choose by the task
You do not need to choose a level from a label alone. Pick the nearest starting point, then discuss the task you need to complete independently.
- Beginner: create a tidy spending or stock list, add a total and copy a formula without changing the wrong reference. Try the beginner Excel exercises with answers.
- Everyday workplace skills: use IF, sorting, filtering and lookups to answer a specific question from a tracker. Practise with the fictional invoice tracker.
- Advanced reporting: clean an export, summarise it with a pivot table and check that a refreshed report still includes the right records. Use the five-task advanced Excel checklist.
Knowing a function name is different from using it reliably. If you can make a pivot table but cannot explain a wrong total, checking the source data may be a better first lesson than adding another dashboard.
What Happens in the Excel Skills Check
The free trial uses a small practical workbook rather than a multiple-choice test. It checks whether you can organise data, choose a formula, copy it safely and explain what the answer means.
- Foundations: entering data, formatting dates and numbers, saving, printing and finding your way around a worksheet.
- Formula control: relative and absolute references, SUM, AVERAGE, IF and error checking.
- Data tasks: tables, sorting, filtering, validation, lookups and cleaning inconsistent entries.
- Reporting: choosing a useful chart or pivot table and explaining the decision it supports.
The result is a short training plan based on the first missing skill needed for your goal. A beginner is not rushed into advanced formulas, and an experienced user does not spend a lesson repeating formatting they already understand.
Built around your actual job
Where possible, sessions use the spreadsheets you actually face - the monthly report, stock tracker, rota, budget or mark sheet. Remove personal, customer or confidential information before sharing a file. If the original cannot be used, a practice workbook can reproduce the same structure with fictional data.
Who books Excel training
Working adults upgrading their role or preparing for one; jobseekers who keep seeing "strong Excel skills" in adverts; small business owners doing their own numbers; and complete beginners, including older adults, who want patient teaching that never assumes knowledge. Sixth-form and university students preparing for placements are regulars too.
Practical guide · Updated
A total can be right while the records are wrong
A workbook should be checked at the record level as well as through its final total. Two errors can cancel numerically while still misrepresenting what happened.
A practical example
Create fictional transactions of £30, £50 and £70. Now increase the first by £10 and reduce the second by £10. The total remains £150, but two records are incorrect. Compare each record with its source and use a unique identifier to keep the check organised.
Add checks for missing records, duplicates and unexpected categories alongside the overall total. Keep the original practice data unchanged so corrections can be traced. This is a training exercise in reliable spreadsheets, not permission to alter live business records without the appropriate review.
Copy a formula and predict which reference should move
Put 10 and 20 in A2 and A3, and a fictional multiplier of 1.1 in B1. In B2, enter =A2*$B$1, then copy it to B3. The results should be 11 and 22: the row in A2 changes, while B1 remains fixed.
Compare with =A2*B1 and inspect the copied reference rather than guessing from the result. The dollar signs control what moves during copying. Use this small, non-financial example to explain the behaviour before applying it to a real workbook with more consequential calculations.
Microsoft: relative and absolute references · Checked 23 September 2026
Beginner Excel training or advanced Excel support?
Beginners start with clean tables, references, formulas, formatting and charts before moving into IF statements and lookups. More experienced users can bring a real workbook for help with pivot tables, dashboards, validation or error checking. Function availability differs between Excel editions, so the course checks your software version before choosing methods; Microsoft documents current availability on pages such as its XLOOKUP guidance.
If your goal also includes presentations, documents or email, compare the broader Microsoft Office training plan. For a presentation-specific task, use the PowerPoint course in Birmingham.
An example four-session Excel improvement plan
- Session 1 - diagnose: inspect the real task, establish the starting level and tidy the source data.
- Session 2 - calculate: build the formulas and references needed for accurate repeatable results.
- Session 3 - analyse: use filters, lookups, pivot tables or charts to answer a practical question.
- Session 4 - repeat: rebuild the process with less support and add checks that reveal errors early.
This is an example sequence, not a fixed-duration package. Agree the scope, session price and suitable pace before booking. The plan can stop after the immediate goal is met or continue into more advanced reporting. Progress is measured by whether the learner can repeat the workflow, not by how many features were demonstrated.
Excel Training FAQs
What level does the Excel training start at?
Wherever you are. Some learners begin with entering data and simple sums, while others need lookups, pivot tables or reporting dashboards.
Can the training use my real work spreadsheets?
Yes, once personal and confidential information has been removed. A practice version with fictional data can be created when the original file cannot be shared.
How is the right Excel course level chosen?
The free trial checks navigation, tables, references, formulas and data interpretation, then starts at the first missing skill needed for your task.
Is Excel training available online?
Yes. Screen sharing lets you learn in your own copy of Excel and work directly on your own computer from anywhere in the UK.
Does my version of Excel affect the training?
Yes. Function availability and menus differ, so the first session checks whether you use Microsoft 365, Excel for the web or an older desktop edition.
Next Step
Call 07909 274901 or book a free trial session. Tell us what the spreadsheet needs to do, your Excel version and whether you prefer Smethwick or online lessons. Use fictional or anonymised records when sharing an example.
Free guides to try before your lesson
Not sure where to start? Try a short exercise before your lesson. Your attempt helps identify the next useful skill, even when the answer is not yet right.