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Maintenance and networks - Beginner

IT Support and Help Desk Essentials

Learn the job of an IT support officer: run a help desk with tickets, troubleshoot calmly, talk to non-technical users…

About this course

Every school, clinic, shop, bank and office depends on computers, phones and printers, and every one of them needs someone who can fix problems and keep people working. That person is the IT support officer, and the place where problems arrive is the help desk. It is one of the best first jobs in technology, because it teaches you how real systems break and how real people use them.

This beginner course focuses on the support job itself, not only on the machines. You will learn how a help desk works from the first call to the closed ticket, how to talk to people who are stressed and not technical, and a reliable troubleshooting method you can use on any problem. You will practise fixes for common Windows, Android, Office, printer and Wi-Fi problems, handle accounts, passwords and multi-factor authentication, use remote support tools with consent, protect data with backups, and respond to malware.

You will also learn to keep an asset list, write knowledge-base articles, use AI assistants safely, work in a team to service-level targets and act ethically with other people's private information. The course ends with a capstone in which you run a simulated help desk with ten tickets.

What you will learn

  • Describe what an IT support officer does and the levels of a help desk
  • Log, prioritise, escalate, resolve and close a support ticket correctly
  • Communicate clearly and kindly with non-technical users using plain words and simple scripts
  • Apply the troubleshooting method: ask, reproduce, isolate, fix, verify and document
  • Fix common Windows, Android, Office, printer, Wi-Fi and peripheral problems
  • Manage accounts safely, including password resets, multi-factor authentication, onboarding and offboarding
  • Use remote support tools only with consent and protect users' privacy
  • Respond to malware, restore data from backups and keep an asset inventory
  • Write a knowledge-base article and use AI assistants safely when troubleshooting
  • Plan a support career and complete a simulated help desk of ten tickets

Course content

5 modules · 17 lessons · 5 h 30 min · 6 quizzes

Module 1: The support job and the help-desk process3 lessons

Understand the role, follow a ticket from start to finish and learn how service levels shape the work.

  1. What an IT support officer does 15 min
  2. The help-desk process: ticket, triage, escalation and closing 20 min
  3. Ticketing systems and service levels 15 min
  4. Quiz: 8 questions
Module 2: Working with users and solving problems3 lessons

Communicate clearly with non-technical people and follow a repeatable troubleshooting method.

  1. Customer care and plain words 20 min
  2. The troubleshooting method 20 min
  3. Difficult cases: remote users, repeated faults and saying no 15 min
  4. Quiz: 8 questions
Module 3: Fixing common problems4 lessons

Practical fixes for Windows, Android, Office, printers, Wi-Fi, peripherals and user accounts.

  1. Common Windows problems and fixes 25 min
  2. Android phones and Office problems 20 min
  3. Printers, Wi-Fi and peripherals 20 min
  4. Accounts, passwords, multi-factor authentication, onboarding and offboarding 25 min
  5. Quiz: 9 questions
Module 4: Protecting people and data3 lessons

Support remotely with consent, protect data with backups and respond to malware.

  1. Remote support tools and consent 15 min
  2. Backups and data recovery basics 20 min
  3. Malware first response 20 min
  4. Quiz: 8 questions
Module 5: Running the service and your career4 lessons

Keep assets, write knowledge, use AI safely, work as a team ethically and finish with a simulated help desk.

  1. Hardware swaps and asset inventory 15 min
  2. Knowledge-base articles and using AI assistants safely 20 min
  3. Teamwork, ethics, confidentiality and your career 20 min
  4. Capstone: run a simulated help desk with 10 tickets 25 min
  5. Quiz: 9 questions
Final exam

29 questions. Pass with 70% or more to earn your certificate.

What you need

  • Completed Computer Basics and Digital Literacy (computer-basics), or equivalent experience using a computer and a smartphone
  • A computer or laptop with Windows (a phone with Android is helpful but not required)
  • Comfortable reading and writing English at a basic work level

Further reading

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