The right computer course for office work depends on where your staff start. Most teams need practical Microsoft Office skills in Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, and some also need an accredited result. BOTI’s Microsoft Office and computer skills courses cover every level, from first-time users to advanced Excel. BOTI has also applied for QCTO accreditation for End User Computing skills programmes for staff who need a formal certificate, and enrolment opens once the QCTO confirms it.
- Occupational Skills Programme: Basic End User Computing – SP-240201
- Introduction to Computers and Microsoft Office Basics (2 days)
- Microsoft Office Essentials: Word, Excel and PowerPoint Beginners (3 days)
At your offices anywhere in South Africa, live online or at a BOTI venue.
See all Microsoft Office and Computer Skills coursesGet a quote for your teamLearning on your own? Self-paced e-learning from R595 (excl. VAT) · Ask your employer to pay
Related: MS Word for Beginners.
Related: MICT SETA: Learnerships, Bursaries and Grants.
End User Computer Courses: I.T.
End user computing means the everyday use of a computer at work. It covers working safely with files and folders, writing documents, building spreadsheets, sending email, searching the internet and preparing presentations. An end user computer course teaches these skills on the applications staff use every day, so that they work faster and make fewer errors.
For many years the accredited route was the National Certificate: Information Technology: End User Computing (SAQA ID 61591). This legacy SETA qualification closed to new learners on 30 June 2026[1]. BOTI’s National Certificate: IT End User Computing 61591 page is for learners who are already enrolled. BOTI has applied for QCTO accreditation for the skills programmes described below, so new learners can ask BOTI to be told when enrolment opens and can use BOTI’s non-accredited computer courses for now.
Customised training for your team. BOTI tailors this course to your organisation and runs it in-house at your premises, at its venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or live online. Request a quote or call 011 882 8853.
The National Certificate: IT End User Computing is a credit-bearing qualification registered on the NQF. Learners earned credits by passing assessments and completing a portfolio of evidence. The table further down shows the unit standards and learning areas it covered, as a reference for learners who are already enrolled.
Accredited computer courses: QCTO accreditation pending
BOTI is a QCTO-accredited Skills Development Provider. It has applied to the QCTO for accreditation for three occupational skills programmes in end user computing, which build on each other. The QCTO’s decision is awaited, and enrolment opens only once accreditation is confirmed:
- Basic End User Computing (SP-240201): for staff who need sound everyday computer and office application skills.
- Occupational Skills Programme: Intermediate End User Computing – SP-240202: for staff who already use office applications and need to work at a higher level.
- Occupational Skills Programme: Advanced End User Computing – SP-240203: for experienced users who handle more complex documents, data and reports.
Once accreditation is confirmed, each skills programme will end in a Final Integrated Supervised Assessment (FISA), which BOTI runs, and the QCTO, not BOTI, will issue the certificate. A skills programme is not a full qualification. Ask BOTI to tell you when enrolment opens. Until then, the accredited computer route is pending, and BOTI’s non-accredited Microsoft Office and computer courses below are open for booking.
Types of computer courses for office work
Computer courses for the workplace fall into a few broad types. Most organisations combine two or three of them:
- Basic computer literacy: for people new to computers. Introduction to Computers and Microsoft Office Basics (2 days) covers the basics of Windows, files, email and the main Office programs.
- Microsoft Office foundations: Microsoft Office Essentials: Word, Excel and PowerPoint Beginners (3 days) suits staff who need all three core programs. Microsoft Office All-in-One (5 days) adds Outlook and OneNote.
- Single-application courses by level: Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, from beginners to advanced. Most run for 1 to 3 days.
- Data and reporting: Excel analysis, charts, PivotTables and Power BI, for staff who build reports and dashboards.
- Accredited skills programmes: the QCTO End User Computing programmes above, for staff who need a formal certificate. BOTI has applied for QCTO accreditation for these, and enrolment opens once it is confirmed.
BOTI’s Microsoft Office short courses are not accredited. Delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
How to choose the right computer course
- Check current skills first. Ask BOTI to help you assess where each person stands, so that nobody sits in a course that is too easy or too hard.
- Decide whether you need a formal certificate. If you do, ask BOTI to tell you when its QCTO End User Computing skills programmes open, as BOTI’s accreditation for them is awaiting the QCTO’s decision. If the goal is faster, more accurate everyday work, a short course is usually enough.
- Match the course to the job. Administrators and assistants usually need Word, Outlook and Excel. Analysts and finance staff need more Excel and Power BI.
- Pick the format. Training can run at your premises, at BOTI’s venue or live online.
Upcoming Public Courses
The public computer short courses listed below are open for booking:
What the National Certificate: IT End User Computing (61591) covered
This table is a reference for learners already enrolled on the legacy qualification. It is not open to new learners.
| End User Computer Course
Skills Programme 1: WORD PROCESSING |
13 | ||
| COMPONENT | ID | UNIT STANDARD TITLE | CREDITS |
| Core | 117924 | Use a Graphical User Interface (GUI)-based word processor to format documents | 5 |
| Core | 119078 | Use a GUI-based word processor to enhance a document through the use of tables and columns | 5 |
| Core | 116942 | Use a GUI-based word processor to create merged documents | 3 |
| End User Computer Course
Skills Programme 2: SPREAD SHEET APPLICATIONS |
13 | ||
| COMPONENT | ID | UNIT STANDARD TITLE | CREDITS |
| Core | 116937 | Use a Graphical User Interface (GUI)-based spreadsheet application to create and edit spreadsheets | 4 |
| Core | 116940 | Use a Graphical User Interface (GUI)-based spreadsheet application to solve a given problem | 6 |
| Core | 116943 | Using a Graphical User Interface (GUI)-based spreadsheet application, enhance the functionality and apply graph /charts to a spreadsheet | 3 |
| End User Computer Course
Skills Programme 3: DATABASE MANAGEMENT |
3 | ||
| COMPONENT | ID | UNIT STANDARD TITLE | CREDITS |
| Core | 116936 | Use a Graphical User Interface (GUI)-based database application to work with simple databases | 3 |
| End User Computer Course
Skills Programme 4: LIFE ORIENTATION |
10 | ||
| COMPONENT | ID | UNIT STANDARD TITLE | CREDITS |
| Fundamental | 13915 | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS in a workplace, and its effects on a business sub-sector, own organisation and a specific workplace | 4 |
| Fundamental | 110023 | Present information in report format | 6 |
| End User Computer Course
Skills Programme 5: MATHEMATICAL LITERACY |
16 | ||
| COMPONENT | ID | UNIT STANDARD TITLE | CREDITS |
| Fundamental | 9010 | Demonstrate an understanding of the use of different number bases and measurement units and an awareness of error in the context of relevant calculations | 2 |
| Fundamental | 9013 | Describe, apply, analyse and calculate shape and motion in 2-and 3-dimensional space in different contexts | 4 |
| Fundamental | 9012 | Investigate life and work related problems using data and probabilities | 5 |
| Fundamental | 7456 | Use mathematics to investigate and monitor the financial aspects of personal, business and national issues | 5 |
| Fundamental | 11241 | Perform Basic Business Calculations | 6 |
| End User Computer Course
Skills Programme 6: BASIC COMPUTER LITERACY |
6 | ||
| COMPONENT | ID | UNIT STANDARD TITLE | CREDITS |
| Core | 117925 | Describe the concepts of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the use of its components in a healthy and safe manner | 3 |
| Core | 114076 | Use computer technology to research a computer topic | 3 |
| End User Computer Course
Skills Programme 7: COMPUTER NETWORKS ARCHITECTURE AND PROGRAMMING |
28 | ||
| COMPONENT | ID | UNIT STANDARD TITLE | CREDITS |
| Elective | 10139 | Implement project administration processes according to requirements | 5 |
| Elective | 10140 | Apply a range of project management tools | 8 |
| Elective | 14913 | Explain the principles of computer networks | 5 |
| Elective | 117927 | Use a Graphical User Interface (GUI)-based database application to solve a given problem | 6 |
| Elective | 14947 | Describe data communications | 4 |
| End User Computer Course
Skills Programme 8: COMMUNICATIONS |
15 | ||
| COMPONENT | ID | UNIT STANDARD TITLE | CREDITS |
| Fundamental | 8968 | Accommodate audience and context needs in oral communication | 5 |
| Fundamental | 8970 | Write texts for a range of communicative contexts | 5 |
| Fundamental | 8973 | Use language and communication in occupational learning programmes | 5 |
| End User Computer Course
Skills Programme 9: PRESENTATION DEVELOPMENT |
10 | ||
| COMPONENT | ID | UNIT STANDARD TITLE | CREDITS |
| Core | 117923 | Use a Graphical User Interface (GUI)-based presentation application to prepare and produce a presentation according to a given brief | 5 |
| Core | 116930 | Use a Graphical User Interface (GUI)-based presentation application to enhance presentation appearance | 5 |
| End User Computer Course
Skills Programme 10: MAIL & INTERNET |
11 | ||
| COMPONENT | ID | UNIT STANDARD TITLE | CREDITS |
| Core | 115391 | Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of the internet and the world-wide-web | 3 |
| Core | 116931 | Use a Graphical User Interface (GUI)-based web-browser to search the Internet | 4 |
| Core | 116935 | Enhance, edit and organise electronic messages using a Graphical User Interface (GUI)-based messaging application | 2 |
| Core | 116945 | Use electronic mail to send and receive messages | 2 |
Note: the National Certificate: IT End User Computing (SAQA ID 61591) closed to new enrolments on 30 June 2026[1]. Only learners already enrolled can complete it. BOTI has applied for QCTO accreditation for the End User Computing skills programmes (SP-240201, SP-240202 and SP-240203), and new learners can ask BOTI to be told when enrolment opens.
Frequently asked questions
Which computer course is right for office work?
For most office staff, start with Microsoft Office skills in Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. Someone new to computers should begin with an introduction course. Staff who already use Office every day gain more from intermediate or advanced Word and Excel. If you need a formal certificate, note that BOTI has applied for QCTO accreditation for End User Computing skills programmes, and enrolment opens once it is confirmed. Ask BOTI to tell you when they open.
Are there accredited computer courses at BOTI?
Not yet in end user computing. BOTI is a QCTO-accredited Skills Development Provider and has applied to the QCTO for accreditation for three occupational skills programmes: Basic End User Computing (SP-240201), Intermediate End User Computing (SP-240202) and Advanced End User Computing (SP-240203). The QCTO’s decision is awaited, and enrolment opens only once accreditation is confirmed. Once open, each will end in a Final Integrated Supervised Assessment run by BOTI, and the QCTO will issue the certificate. Ask BOTI to tell you when enrolment opens. For now, BOTI’s Microsoft Office short courses are open. They are not accredited, and delegates on those courses receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
What types of computer courses are there?
The main types are basic computer literacy, Microsoft Office foundation courses, single-application courses in Word, Excel, Outlook or PowerPoint by level, data and reporting courses in Excel and Power BI, and accredited skills programmes in end user computing. Most teams combine a foundation course with one or two application courses that match their jobs.
Can I still enrol for the National Certificate: IT End User Computing?
No. The National Certificate: IT End User Computing (SAQA ID 61591) closed to new learners on 30 June 2026. Only learners who are already enrolled can complete it. BOTI has applied for QCTO accreditation for End User Computing skills programmes, and new learners can ask BOTI to be told when enrolment opens. Until then, BOTI’s non-accredited computer courses are available.
How long does a computer course take?
BOTI’s Microsoft Office short courses run from 1 to 5 days, depending on the course and level. The QCTO End User Computing skills programmes, which are awaiting the QCTO’s accreditation decision, will take longer, because they include learning and a final assessment. Contact BOTI for the current contact days and schedule.
BOTI has applied for QCTO accreditation for the Occupational Skills Programme: Basic End User Computing – SP-240201, and enrolment opens only once it is confirmed, so ask BOTI to tell you when it opens. Until then, the accredited computer route is pending, and staff can start with BOTI’s non-accredited Introduction to Computers and Microsoft Office Basics course. Training runs in-house at your premises, at BOTI’s venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or live online. Call BOTI on 011 882 8853 or email [email protected], or request a quote for your team.
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