Digital Literacy Training for Employees and Teams
Live, instructor-led training that brings your workforce up to speed on the digital skills their jobs require. From basic computer proficiency to Microsoft Office, collaboration tools, and AI fundamentals.
One in three U.S. workers still lacks basic digital skills (National Skills Coalition). Not advanced skills. Basic skills. The ability to manage files, format a document, navigate a shared drive, use email professionally, or work in a collaboration platform without calling IT.
These are not employees who cannot do their jobs. They are employees who take three times longer than they should on tasks that technology could simplify, because nobody ever trained them on the tools they are expected to use. They print emails to read them. They recreate documents from scratch instead of using templates. They avoid SharePoint because nobody showed them how it works. They do not know what a PivotTable is, and they are not going to ask.
DWC’s digital literacy training closes this gap with live, instructor-led workshops designed for adults who need practical digital skills for the workplace. Training covers everything from basic computer proficiency and file management through Microsoft Office applications, email productivity, collaboration platforms, data literacy, and AI fundamentals. Every class is taught by an experienced instructor who meets participants where they are, with patience, real-world exercises, and zero assumptions about what employees already know.
Whether you are onboarding new hires who lack computer basics, upskilling a department that has fallen behind, or building digital literacy across your entire organization through a workforce development program, DWC builds the right training for your team and your budget.
Why Digital Literacy Training Is Urgent
The gap between the digital skills jobs require and the digital skills employees have is wider than most organizations realize.
Digital literacy has been named one of the top five core skills for 85% of all jobs (World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report). Yet most organizations assume employees already have these skills because they own smartphones and use social media. Using Instagram is not the same as managing a shared document library or building a budget spreadsheet.
The research paints a clear picture of the problem and the opportunity:
One-third of the U.S. workforce lacks basic digital skills (National Skills Coalition). That means in a company of 30, roughly 10 employees are struggling with tasks their jobs require them to do digitally.
88% of workers say they need more digital skills to cope with changes in their jobs since the pandemic (Salesforce). The shift to hybrid and remote work exposed skill gaps that in-office environments had masked for years.
Organizations with digitally literate workforces are 2.5 times more likely to outperform competitors in productivity and innovation metrics (World Economic Forum). Digital literacy is not a nice-to-have. It is a performance differentiator.
59% of employees will need to be upskilled or retrained by 2030 (World Economic Forum, 2025). The reskilling window is open now. Organizations that wait are building a gap that gets harder to close every year.
Employees with strong digital skills earn 23% higher average salaries and report significantly better career advancement opportunities. When you invest in your employees’ digital skills, you are investing in retention.
The Department of Labor’s 2026 Training and Employment Notice identifies digital and AI literacy as a “foundational priority” across the U.S. workforce and education system. Federal funding, state grants, and WIOA programs are increasingly available to support digital literacy training for working adults.
What Digital Literacy Training Covers
A practical skills progression from basic computer proficiency to workplace applications, data literacy, and AI.
DWC organizes digital literacy training into four tiers. Most organizations start at the tier that matches their employees’ current skill level and build upward. All classes are available for private group training and can be customized to your organization’s tools and workflows.
Tier 1: Digital Foundations
For employees who need to strengthen basic computer and workplace technology skills before they can use specific applications effectively.
Digital Literacy for the Workplace is the foundation everything else builds on. In one day, employees learn to organize and find files without losing work, manage an inbox that does not run their day, format a document a reader can follow, collaborate in Microsoft Teams, and handle sensitive information safely. It assumes nothing about what participants already know, which matters more than it sounds: the skills gap here is rarely admitted, and a class that starts above someone’s head teaches them nothing.
This is the right starting point for onboarding cohorts, departments that have quietly fallen behind on tools they already own, and grant-funded programs serving adult learners. Most organizations run it across a whole team so everyone shares one baseline, then move people into Tier 2 based on the applications their roles actually require.
Tier 2: Core Workplace Applications
For employees who have basic digital proficiency and need training on the specific applications their jobs require.
Microsoft Excel Beginners (Level 1) is the most requested digital skill in job postings and the most requested training topic at DWC. Participants learn to structure a spreadsheet so it can grow, write formulas that do not break when a row moves, and stop doing by hand what Excel will do for them. Teams ready to go further can continue through the full Excel path, from Intermediate and Advanced through PivotTables and Advanced Formulas.
Microsoft Outlook Beginners (Level 1) covers email, calendars, contacts, and tasks. Most employees use a fraction of what Outlook does, and the gap is invisible: nobody knows what they are not using.
Microsoft Word Beginners (Level 1) goes past typing into formatting that holds. Styles, templates, and documents that stay consistent when the next person edits them, instead of being rebuilt from scratch every time.
Microsoft PowerPoint Beginners (Level 1) teaches employees to build clear, professional presentations rather than a document projected on a wall.
Microsoft SharePoint helps employees use your collaboration platform for document management, team sites, and shared libraries, instead of emailing files back and forth and losing track of which version is current.
For the full range of Microsoft Office training, including intermediate and advanced levels of every application, see our Microsoft Office training.
Tier 3: Data Literacy and Information Skills
For employees who need to read, interpret, and communicate with data in their roles.
Once staff can use the applications, the next gap is judgment about what the applications are showing them. Employees are handed dashboards, reports, and spreadsheets and expected to decide from them, usually without ever being taught the questions: where did this come from, what is it leaving out, and what would have to be true for this conclusion to hold. That gap produces confident decisions made on a misread.
DWC teaches data literacy as its own track rather than as a tier of this one, because the skills range from reading a chart correctly through building the dashboards other people read. See our data analytics and data literacy training for the full progression, including workshops for managers who consume dashboards but do not build them.
Tier 4: AI Literacy
For employees who need to understand AI tools, use them responsibly, and work within organizational AI policies.
AI Fundamentals for the Workplace belongs in any digital literacy program now, because your employees are already using these tools whether you have a policy or not. In a half day, they learn what generative AI actually does, why it produces confident wrong answers, which tasks it suits and which it fails at quietly, and what must never be pasted into it. No coding, no technical background, and no assumption that anyone has used it before.
This is DWC’s fastest-growing class, and the Department of Labor’s 2026 Training and Employment Notice names digital and AI literacy together as a single foundational priority. Treating them as separate problems no longer reflects how the work is done.
Teams that want to go further, into prompting, ethics, governance, or leadership-level AI, can continue with our full AI training track for both employees and leaders.
Digital Literacy
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Digital Literacy for the Workplace
1 Day (8 hrs; two 4-hr sessions)Digital Literacy for the Workplace turns the technology your team already uses into a real, teachable skill set. In one day, employees learn to manage files, write clear email, run Microsoft Teams meetings with confidence, and handle documents securely across Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint. The payoff is fewer mistakes, fewer help desk tickets, and full value from the software you already pay for. Available by request only, with a three participant minimum.From $495.00 -
AI Fundamentals for the Workplace
Half Day (4 hrs)AI Fundamentals for the Workplace gives employees a working understanding of the tools they are already using. In a half day, they learn what generative AI actually does, why it produces confident wrong answers, which tasks it suits and which it does not, and what must never be pasted into it. The payoff is a workforce that uses AI deliberately rather than experimentally. Available by request only, with a three participant minimum.From $395.00
Digital Literacy
Who This Training Is For
Digital literacy training is for every employee whose job requires technology they were never formally trained on.
Workforce development programs and agencies
Workforce development programs and agencies are the most common buyers of digital literacy training at DWC. Workforce boards, WIOA-funded programs, vocational rehabilitation providers, and community organizations use DWC to deliver structured digital skills training to adult learners, dislocated workers, and participants transitioning into new careers. DWC understands grant reporting, outcome tracking, and the documentation these programs require.
Government agencies and public sector organizations
Government agencies and public sector organizations that need employees trained on basic workplace technology, Microsoft Office, email management, and document collaboration. DWC has delivered digital literacy training to state agencies, county governments, and municipal departments in Colorado, Utah, and nationwide.
Small and mid-size employers
Small and mid-size employers with staff who lack basic digital skills but whose jobs increasingly require them. These organizations often do not have internal training departments. A single day of digital literacy training can measurably improve how an entire team handles email, documents, and files.
Nonprofits and community organizations
Nonprofits and community organizations with small teams that need to produce reports, manage donor data, handle correspondence, and maintain digital records without dedicated IT or administrative support.
Healthcare and social services organizations
Healthcare and social services organizations with administrative, clinical support, and case management staff who interact with digital systems daily but struggle with basic computer tasks, file management, or Office applications.
Companies onboarding new hires
Companies onboarding new hires who need every employee starting at the same baseline of digital proficiency. DWC can build a digital literacy onboarding module that covers the core tools your organization uses.
Adult learners and career changers
Adult learners and career changers who need to build digital confidence before pursuing further professional development, certificate programs, or career advancement. Digital literacy training at DWC serves as a foundation for everything that comes after.
How Custom Digital Literacy Training Works
We assess where your team is, build the training around the tools they use, and meet every participant where they are.
Step 1: Assess Skill Levels Contact DWC and tell us about your team: how many people, what tools they use (or should be using), and where the biggest gaps are. If you are not sure what level your employees are at, we can help you assess that before designing the program.
Step 2: Build a Training Plan by Tier DWC recommends the right combination of digital literacy tiers based on your team’s current skills and the outcomes you need. Some organizations need Tier 1 (Digital Foundations) for the whole team. Others need a combination: Tier 1 for new hires, Tier 2 (Microsoft Office) for administrative staff, and Tier 4 (AI Literacy) for staff using AI tools. We design the plan to fit your workforce and your professional development budget.
Step 3: Customize Around Your Tools Exercises and examples are built around the specific technology your organization uses. If your team works in Microsoft 365, the training uses Microsoft 365. If your organization uses SharePoint for document management, the exercises use SharePoint. Participants learn on the tools they use at work, not generic simulations.
Step 4: Deliver Live Training All sessions are live and instructor-led, either on-site at your Colorado office or live online through Zoom. DWC instructors have deep experience working with adult learners at every skill level. They teach with patience, clear explanations, and a pace that builds confidence without overwhelming participants.
How Organizations Use DWC Digital Literacy Training
Colorado Workforce Board: WIOA-Funded Digital Literacy for 80 Participants A regional workforce development board partnered with DWC to deliver Digital Literacy for the Workplace and AI Fundamentals for the Workplace to 80 dislocated workers over a six-month period. DWC provided custom curriculum aligned to the board’s participant outcome metrics, certificates of completion, and comprehensive documentation for federal grant reporting. The board renewed the engagement for a second cohort.
Colorado State Agency: Digital Skills for 120 Employees A Colorado state agency enrolled 120 employees across five regional offices in Digital Literacy for the Workplace, Excel Beginners, and Outlook training. DWC delivered the program live online with separate tracks for beginner and intermediate skill levels. The agency reported measurable improvements in document quality, email communication, and the time employees spent on routine digital tasks.
Northern Colorado Nonprofit: Office Skills for a Small Team A Northern Colorado nonprofit enrolled 6 staff members in Digital Literacy for the Workplace followed by Excel Beginners and Word training. The organization had been outsourcing report production and donor communications because staff lacked the digital skills to produce them in-house. After training, the team handled all routine document production independently, saving the organization an estimated $12,000 per year.
Healthcare Organization: Computer Skills for Administrative Staff A Northern Colorado healthcare organization enrolled 20 patient-facing administrative staff in Digital Literacy for the Workplace. Staff were struggling with basic file management, document formatting, and navigation of the organization’s internal systems. DWC delivered training on-site with exercises built around the organization’s actual technology environment.
Community Organization: Digital Literacy for Career Readiness A community-based employment services organization in Denver partnered with DWC to deliver digital literacy training to 40 adult learners preparing for employment. The program covered basic computer skills, email, file management, and an introduction to Microsoft Office. Participants received certificates of completion that supported their job applications and demonstrated workforce readiness to potential employers.
Grant-Funded Digital Literacy Training
DWC has nearly two decades of experience delivering digital literacy training through workforce development grants.
Digital literacy training is one of the most commonly funded topics through WIOA, vocational rehabilitation, Skill Advance Colorado, UpSkill, and Colorado First programs. DWC understands the documentation, outcome tracking, and reporting requirements that grant-funded programs demand.
What DWC provides for grant-funded digital literacy programs:
Certificates of completion for every participant. Attendance tracking and participant outcome records aligned to your reporting timeline. Custom curriculum designed to meet grant-specific learning objectives and participant skill levels. Flexible scheduling for cohort-based delivery, rolling enrollment, or phased programs. Instructors experienced in working with adult learners, dislocated workers, and participants with varied educational backgrounds.
If you manage a workforce development grant and need a training provider for digital literacy, contact our team to discuss your requirements.
Serving Colorado, Utah, and Nationwide
Based in Fort Collins. On a State of Colorado Price Agreement. Delivering digital literacy training across the Mountain West and the country.
Digital Workshop Center is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, and has provided digital literacy and workplace technology training since 2006.
For Colorado public sector buyers, DWC holds a State of Colorado Price Agreement for training and development programs. State agencies, institutions of higher education, cities, counties, school districts, and certified nonprofits can purchase our digital literacy training directly under that agreement, at agreed rates, without running a separate solicitation. If you have been putting off a training program because of the procurement lift, this removes it.
Across Colorado, we deliver digital literacy training to employers, government agencies, workforce boards, and nonprofits statewide. On-site delivery is available throughout the Colorado Front Range, including Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Windsor, Longmont, Boulder, Denver, and Colorado Springs. On-site engagements outside our immediate area may include a mileage charge, which we set out clearly in your quote. Organizations elsewhere in the state, including the Western Slope and the San Luis Valley, train live online with the same instructor and the same hands-on exercises.
In Utah, we serve organizations in Salt Lake City, Provo, Ogden, and across the Wasatch Front with live online digital literacy training.
Nationwide, our live online workshops reach organizations in every state. Distributed teams, remote staff, and multi-location departments train together in real time with an instructor, on your schedule and in your time zone, with no travel required.
Your Digital Literacy Training Goals, Customized to You
DWC provides expert digital literacy training aligned to your employees’ current skill levels, job requirements, and the specific technology your organization uses. From basic computer proficiency to AI fundamentals, we build the right program for your team.
20,000+
90%
1,500+
Why Digital Literacy Training at DWC?
- Four-tier progression from foundations to AI literacy. Start at any level and build upward. Digital Foundations for beginners. Microsoft Office for everyday applications. Data Literacy for informed decision making. AI Literacy for the tools reshaping every workplace.
- Designed for adult learners. DWC instructors have deep experience teaching adults with varied educational and technical backgrounds. They teach with patience, clear language, and zero assumptions.
- Live, instructor-led sessions through Zoom or on-site. Every class is taught live with real-time interaction and hands-on exercises. No pre-recorded videos. No self-paced modules.
- Custom curriculum around your tools. Training uses the specific applications and technology environment your employees work in daily.
- Grant experience built in. DWC has delivered digital literacy training through WIOA, vocational rehabilitation, Skill Advance Colorado, UpSkill, and Colorado First programs. We handle documentation and reporting.
- On-site in Colorado, online everywhere. Fort Collins, Denver, Colorado Springs, or anywhere in the state for in-person. Zoom for teams nationwide.
- A foundation for everything else. Digital literacy training at DWC serves as the entry point for Microsoft Office training, data analytics training, AI training, and certificate programs.
- Certificates of completion. Every participant receives documentation for professional development records, grant reporting, or employment verification.
Digital Literacy Training FAQs
What is digital literacy training?
Digital literacy training teaches employees the practical technology skills they need to perform their jobs effectively. This includes basic computer proficiency, file management, email and communication tools, Microsoft Office applications, collaboration platforms, data literacy, and AI fundamentals. Training is designed for working adults and does not require any prior technical background.
What skill levels do you teach?
DWC organizes digital literacy training into four tiers: Digital Foundations (basic computer proficiency and workplace technology), Core Workplace Applications (Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, SharePoint), Data Literacy (interpreting data and using dashboards), and AI Literacy (understanding and using AI tools responsibly). Most organizations start at the tier that matches their employees’ current skills and build upward.
Are digital literacy classes live or self-paced?
All classes are delivered live with an instructor, either on-site at your office or online through Zoom. Participants follow along with hands-on exercises, ask questions, and get real-time feedback. There are no self-paced modules, pre-recorded videos, or on-demand content.
Can digital literacy training be customized for our team?
Yes. Every private group session is customized around the specific technology, applications, and workflows your organization uses. DWC works with your team lead or program manager to assess skill levels, identify gaps, and build exercises around your real work environment.
Do you offer digital literacy training for government employees?
Yes. DWC has delivered digital literacy training to state agencies, county governments, and municipal departments in Colorado, Utah, and nationwide.
Do you provide digital literacy training in Utah?
Yes. DWC delivers live online digital literacy training to organizations across Utah, including Salt Lake City, Provo, Ogden, and Park City.
How do we get started?
Contact our team to discuss your training goals, employee skill levels, team size, grant requirements, and timeline. We will put together a custom training proposal. Most organizations move from initial conversation to confirmed dates within one to two weeks.
Who is digital literacy training designed for?
Digital literacy training serves employees who lack formal technology training, adult learners preparing for employment, workforce development program participants, new hires who need a technology baseline, administrative and support staff, government employees, and nonprofit staff. Training is designed for adults at every skill level and does not assume any prior technical knowledge for foundational courses.
Do employees need prior computer experience?
No. Digital Literacy for the Workplace (Tier 1) is designed for employees with minimal computer experience. Basic familiarity with using a mouse and keyboard is helpful but even that can be addressed in a customized program. Each subsequent tier assumes the skills taught in the previous tier.
How long are digital literacy training sessions?
Digital Literacy for the Workplace is 8 hours total across 2 sessions. AI literacy workshops are 4 hours each. Microsoft Office classes are typically 7 hours across 2 sessions. Multi-tier training plans are scheduled across multiple weeks to build skills progressively.
Can digital literacy training be funded through workforce development grants?
Yes. Digital literacy training is one of the most commonly funded topics through WIOA, vocational rehabilitation, Skill Advance Colorado, UpSkill, and Colorado First programs. DWC provides the certificates, attendance records, and outcome documentation that grant-funded programs require.
Do you provide digital literacy training in Colorado?
Yes. DWC is headquartered in Fort Collins, CO, and delivers digital literacy training throughout Colorado, including Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Loveland, Greeley, and Northern Colorado. On-site delivery at your office is available.
Do you offer digital literacy training nationwide?
Yes. Live online digital literacy workshops are available to organizations in every state.
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