Microsoft Word has been the victim of its own ubiquity. Word 1.0 came out in 1983, meaning that many workers today have never worked in a world without Word. Today's high school students have used Word since they first sat down at a computer for academic work.

Because it's such a common program, and it's used for such ordinary tasks, people think that there's nothing to know about Word beyond typing, saving and printing. But what's less commonly known is that Microsoft Word can produce finely detailed and formatted documents, flyers, envelopes, and other printed projects.

Thorough knowledge of Word can help your organization save the expense of hiring a graphic designer. Word is capable of much more than it usually gets used for, and your employees should possess these skills.

What Can  you Learn in a Microsoft Word Training Seminar?

If your employees are used to PC alternatives or are new to using computers for work, a course in Word will give them a solid foundation in the basics. They will learn how to create and save documents, change fonts and styles, and work with templates.

After taking the course, they will have the skills needed to navigate and edit documents of any size and work with documents containing tables and images, which can be essential in viewing or editing detailed reports. Students will learn about working with footnotes, endnotes, and creating a bibliography. These skills are essential when working with academic papers or government reports.

What about Self-Taught Employees? Do They Need Training?

Self-taught computer users often develop inefficient habits and sometimes don't know about certain features at all. This includes Microsoft Word users. Self-taught computer users may opt for simpler but less effective tools for formatting, adding character sets, and working with tables or images.

These tools may get the job done, so to speak, but they also take more time, look unpolished and feature formatting that may simply fall apart if emailed or imported into another program. Using spacing rather than proper formatting, for example, can lead to a mess when printed or opened in a non-Microsoft word processor. Your experienced computer users may seem comfortable using Word, but they may also be ignoring features that could shave hours off the time for a large project.

What are the Benefits of Formal Word Training?

Experienced computer users will develop skills in using Microsoft Word's graphic capabilities, which includes the ability to caption images and features like Wordart. More advanced Word topics involve working with different character sets, which is crucial for documents that use more than one alphabet or symbols including those for foreign currency.

While Microsoft Word is not a desktop publisher, advanced users of Microsoft Word learn to create a table of contents, number pages, title chapters, and in so doing, create highly readable documents of any length, from a single page to a full volume.

How Can I get all my Employees up to Speed on Microsoft Word?

When your employees are formally instructed in using Microsoft Word, you don't need to take their self-assessment or prior training at face value. A resume stating that an employee has several years' experience with Word can cover a wide range of familiarity. Informal on-the-job training can be similarly inconsistent.

The best way to get all your employees on the same page is to have the same training available to all. The employees who are new to PCs or new to computer use, in general, get a solid foundation, and the experienced Word users can correct old mistakes and learn new tricks.

Employees who are trained in using Microsoft Word derive the greatest value from the cost of a licensed Microsoft product. They can create professional-looking documents without needing to send projects out to a graphic designer or a print shop. Employees who know Microsoft Word well are a valuable asset to organizations of any size.

Do you Want to Train Your Employees in Microsoft Word?

To boost the productivity of your workplace, connect with Infotec today to find out more information on one of our Microsoft Word training classes. With multiple levels of training available from beginner to advanced, you can find the right class for each of your employees.

For more information about Infotec or any of our programs click here: http://www.infotectraining.com/ or https://ops.infotecpro.com/course_schedule/course_schedule.cfm.