Spreadsheet software remains one of the most ubiquitous pieces of software used in workplaces across the world. Learning to confidently operate this software means adding a highly valuable asset to your employability portfolio. In the United States alone, millions of job advertisements requiring Excel skills are posted every day. Research by Burning Glass Technologies and Capital One shows that digitals skills lead to higher income and better employment opportunities at a time when digital skills job are growing much faster than non-digital jobs.
In this second course of our Excel specialization Excel Skills for Business you will build on the strong foundations of the Essentials course. Intermediate Skills I will expand your Excel knowledge to new horizons. You are going to discover a whole range of skills and techniques that will become a standard component of your everyday use of Excel. In this course, you will build a solid layer of more advanced skills so you can manage large datasets and create meaningful reports. These key techniques and tools will allow you to add a sophisticated layer of automation and efficiency to your everyday tasks in Excel.
Once again, we have brought together a great teaching team that will be with you every step of the way. Prashan and Nicky will guide you through each week (and I am even going to make a guest appearance in Week 5 to help you learn about my favourite tool in Excel - shh, no spoilers!). Work through each new challenge step-by-step and in no time you will surprise yourself by how far you have come. This time around, we are going to follow Uma's trials and tribulations as she is trying to find her feet in a new position in the fictitious company PushPin. For those of you who have done the Essentials course, you will already be familiar with the company. Working through her challenges which are all too common ones that we encounter everyday, will help you to more easily relate to the skills and techniques learned in each week and apply them to familiar and new contexts.
This course is part of the Excel Skills for Business Specialization
Excel Skills for Business: Intermediate I
Offered By
About this Course
4.9
1,474 ratings
Skills you will gain
ConcatenationMicrosoft ExcelConsolizationPivot TablePivot Chart
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
14 hours to complete
Working with Multiple Worksheets & Workbooks
This module is all about working with multiple worksheets and workbooks. Learn how you can combine data, manage datasets and perform calculations across multiple sources. And don't forget the Toolbox with handy shortcuts and ninja tips.
8 videos (Total 37 min), 8 readings, 6 quizzes
8 videos
Week 1 Discussion4m
Practice Video: Multiple Worksheets6m
Practice Video: 3D Formulas5m
Practice Video: Linking Workbooks6m
Practice Video: Consolidating by Position5m
Practice Video: Consolidating by Category (Reference)3m
Week 1 Wrap-Up1m
8 readings
Welcome to Excel Skills for Business: Intermediate I10m
Course Goals and Weekly Learning Objectives10m
Read me before you start: Quizzes and Navigation10m
Download the Week 1 workbooks5m
Read me before you start: Versions and regions10m
Week 1: Practice Challenge30m
Week 1: Advanced Practice Challenge30m
Keyboard Shortcuts, Excel Terminology and Ninja Tips30m
6 practice exercises
Multiple Worksheets10m
3D Formulas6m
Linking Workbooks8m
Consolidating by Position8m
Consolidating by Category (Reference)4m
Test your Skills: Working with Multiple Worksheets & Workbooks30m
Week
23 hours to complete
Text and Date Functions
By the end of this module, you will be an expert in Date and Text functions. This module discusses ways you can extract information and manipulate data to fulfil specific business requirements.
8 videos (Total 31 min), 3 readings, 6 quizzes
8 videos
Week 2 Discussion5m
Practice Video: Combining Text (CONCAT, &)4m
Practice Video: Changing Text Case (UPPER, LOWER, PROPER)4m
Practice Video: Extracting Text (LEFT, MID, RIGHT)3m
Practice Video: Finding Text (FIND)5m
Practice Video: Date Calculations (NOW, TODAY, YEARFRAC)3m
Week 2 Wrap-Up1m
3 readings
Download the Week 2 workbooks5m
Week 2: Practice Challenge30m
Keyboard Shortcuts, Excel Terminology and Ninja Tips30m
6 practice exercises
Combining Text (CONCAT, &)6m
Changing Text Case (UPPER, LOWER, PROPER)6m
Extracting Text (LEFT, MID, RIGHT)6m
Finding Text (FIND)8m
Date Calculations (NOW, TODAY, YEARFRAC)6m
Test your Skills: Text and Date Functions30m
Week
32 hours to complete
Named Ranges
Learn how you can create, manage and apply Named Ranges to enhance your calculations.
8 videos (Total 31 min), 3 readings, 6 quizzes
8 videos
Week 3 Discussion2m
Practice Video: Introducing Named Ranges5m
Practice Video: Creating Named Ranges5m
Practice Video: Managing Named Ranges4m
Practice Video: Named Ranges in Formulas5m
Practice Video: Apply Names5m
Week 3 Wrap-Up1m
3 readings
Download the Week 3 workbooks5m
Week 3: Practice Challenge20m
Keyboard Shortcuts, Terminology and Ninja Tips10m
6 practice exercises
Introducing Named Ranges12m
Creating Named Ranges10m
Managing Named Ranges10m
Named Ranges in Formulas6m
Apply Names8m
Test your Skills: Named Ranges30m
Week
43 hours to complete
Summarising Data
Graduate to advanced formulas in this module. Learn how you can use functions like COUNTIFS to extract information from data, as well as generate graphical representations of it.
9 videos (Total 37 min), 3 readings, 7 quizzes
9 videos
Week 4 Discussion3m
Practice Video: COUNT functions4m
Practice Video: Counting with Criteria (COUNTIFS)5m
Practice Video: Adding with Criteria (SUMIFS)6m
Practice Video: Sparklines4m
Practice Video: Advanced Charting5m
Practice Video: Trendlines4m
Week 4 Wrap-Up1m
3 readings
Download the Week 4 workbooks5m
Week 4: Practice Challenge20m
Keyboard Shortcuts, Excel Terminology and Ninja Tips30m
7 practice exercises
COUNT functions8m
Counting with Criteria (COUNTIFS)6m
Adding with Criteria (SUMIFS)8m
Sparklines6m
Advanced Charting6m
Trendlines10m
Test your Skills: Summarising Data30m
4.9
297 Reviews36%
started a new career after completing these courses
29%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
Top Reviews
I found the following areas to be particularly useful to learn about:\n\nCombining and Changing Text\n\nExtracting and Finding Text\n\nNamed Ranges\n\nCOUNTIFS and SUMIFS\n\nTables and Pivot Tables
It was a good experience. I have learned many new tools and how to work smartly. i recommend every Student and employee to go through this course because excel makes work easier. Thanks Coursera.
Instructor
Dr Yvonne Breyer
Director, Learning and TeachingFaculty of Business and Economics
About Macquarie University
Macquarie is ranked among the top one per cent of universities in the world, and with a 5-star QS rating, we are recognised for producing graduates who are among the most sought-after professionals in the world. Since our foundation 54 years ago, we have aspired to be a different type of university: one focused on fostering collaboration between students, academics, industry and society.
About the Excel Skills for Business Specialization
This specialization is intended for anyone who seeks to develop one of the most critical and fundamental digital skills today. Spreadsheet software remains one of the most ubiquitous pieces of software used in workplaces across the world. Learning to confidently operate this software means adding a highly valuable asset to your employability portfolio. In the United States alone, millions of job advertisements requiring Excel skills are posted every day. Research by Burning Glass Technologies and Capital One shows that digital skills lead to higher income and better employment opportunities. At a time when digital skills jobs are growing much faster than non-digital jobs, completing this specialization will position you way ahead of others.
In this Specialization, learners develop advanced Excel Skills for Business. Upon completing the four courses in this Specialization, learners can design sophisticated spreadsheets, including professional dashboards, and perform complex calculations using advanced Excel features and techniques. Learners have acquired the skills to manage large datasets efficiently, extract meaningful information from datasets, present data and extract information effectively. In addition, learners have mastered the skills needed to validate data and prevent errors in spreadsheets, create automation, apply advanced formulas and conditional logic to help make decisions and create spreadsheets that help forecast and model data.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
What version of Excel do you teach?
In this course, we are using Microsoft Excel 2016 (Office 365) on a Windows PC with all options set to default. The Office 365 version of Excel is the latest version at the time of writing and developing this course. If you have a different version of Excel or you are using a Mac, some tools and buttons will look different, they may be located in a different spot, or some might be missing altogether. If there are any major differences, we usually point them out during the practice videos. If you cannot find a tool that we mention, you can always ask in the forums or search the Internet. Most of the functionality we demonstrate is also available in other spreadsheet programs, although the interface will look different. Most other spreadsheet software can import and export files in the Microsoft Excel format. If you are not sure which version of Excel you are using, check the Microsoft support pages for help.
If you cannot use Excel 2016 on a PC, you will be able to follow along with the videos, however, please note that some of the assessment tasks will require Excel. Where possible, we have designed assessment tasks so that users of older versions of Excel (such as 2013) can still solve them.
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
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