Frequently Asked Questions

About Functional Skills

What are Functional Skills?

Previously known as ‘Skills for Life’, Functional Skills are English, Maths and IT qualifications designed to give you practical knowledge, meaning you can take what you learn and apply it directly to your work or study. Functional Skills Level 2 courses aim to provide people with knowledge that they can apply to everyday life situations rather than teaching you things that you may never use again. Read more on our Functional Skills Blog.

Are Functional Skills equivalent to GSCE?

Yes! Level 2 is equal to GCSE grade A-C (4-9 new grading system). While the majority of universities and employers accept Functional Skills, we recommend that you check with them first before purchasing.

Starting an online course

When can I start?

Straight away! When you purchase any of our courses, we aim to get you started the very same day. There’s no need to wait for fixed enrolment dates.

I don’t know what level I should start at?

Don’t worry, everyone who starts a course with us will complete an Initial Assessment which looks at your current skill level and recommends a programme of learning. If you purchase a Level 2 course and your Initial Assessments show a need for Level 1 learning, we’ll include your Level 1 learning.

Course Durations

Our Functional Skills courses have a recommendation of 55 hours per level. But, we cannot really give a time scale for how long the course takes as it largely depends upon what level you are starting at, how fast you learn, and how much time you are willing to put into your learning. Please check each course page for the minimum guided learning hours.

Unlimited Tutor Support

Most courses come with unlimited tutor support via email (unless you purchase our “no support” option). Depending on your subscription package, you can also contact your tutor via telephone or Zoom.

Are there any hidden fees?

We want to be as transparent as possible so if there’s any additional fees, we’ll let you know on the course pages. Most of our course packages are course only. If you want to sit your exams with us as well, you’ll need to pay your exam fees. Individual exam fees can be found on each course page.

Help for current students

Login Details

I have bought a course. How do I get my login details? After purchasing a course, a member of our team will send you your login details via email. Make sure to check your spam/junk mailbox. Please be aware that our offices are open Monday-Friday 09:00-17:00 so purchases made outside of these hours may take slightly longer to receive an email.

Trouble logging in

If you’re having trouble logging in, please download the Login Guide on the My Account page. 

Contacting your tutor

The best way to contact your tutor is via email. Your tutor should have sent you a welcome email within the first week of signing up. If you can’t remember your tutors email address, please get in touch at hello@thinkonlinetraining and we will remind you. If you have paid for our higher support packages and want to schedule a phone call or Zoom meeting, please arrange this with your tutor via email.

Cancelling/Pausing Subscriptions

You can cancel or pause your subscription at anytime. To do so, go to My Account and login. Click Subscriptions and choose the course you would like to cancel or pause. You will receive confirmation via email.

Exams

Exam fees

Unless specified otherwise, most courses do not include exam fees. See each course page for individual exam fees information.

Getting your results

On-screen assessments – the maximum turnaround time is 16 working days from the date you sat your assessment.

The exception to this is where we release a new assessment; the maximum turnaround time in this case is 32 working days to take into account the required awarding process to set the pass mark.

Once your results have been determined, we’ll send out your certificates in the post. If you need the certificate urgently, we can send written confirmation of your grade or an e-certificate while you wait for the certificates.

Exam only candidates

I don’t want to do the course. Can I go straight in for the exam? We strongly recommend doing the course before sitting your exam. If you would like to sit the exam straight away though, you can. For more details about this, please go to the Book a Test tab in the main menu.

Question not answered here? Get in touch with us and submit your question . . .