Is touch typing a skill you need?

We’re spending more and more time with our keyboards writing emails, reports, letters, meeting minutes and more. And typing faster and without looking at the keyboard could actually save time.

You can train your muscle memory, which helps your fingers remember where each letter is on the keyboard and with some practice you can be more efficient.

Skills Academy’s Touch Typing and Shorthand certification course could be just the thing to help you increase your typing speed.

Besides touch typing the course also introduces shorthand which is another useful skill for anyone who takes notes in meetings, for instance.

UNISON members can learn these valuable skills for free with Skills Academy. You just need to apply for an account on UNISON website and you’re good to go and try out Touch Typing and Shorthand certification or any of the other courses on professional skills that are on offer.

The Touch Typing and Shorthand certification course duration is seven hours, and you get a CPD accredited certificate on completion. On the course you learn about:

  • Different styles of typing and how they impact speed and quality
  • How to train your fingers and brain to create muscle memory for effective touch typing
  • The basic finger position and posture needed to prevent injury and aid typing speed
  • Key drills for each hand to gradually build up the neurological connections needed for touch typing
  • The ancient origins of shorthand and why written script is inefficient
  • The theories and practical development of your own shorthand style.

You can see the full Touch Typing and Shorthand certification course description on the website. Just remember that you need to have a UNISON allocated account to access it for free.

UNISON’s Skills Club introduces a new online course to take each month. The courses are self-guided so you can choose where and when to learn. The courses offer members food for thought, opportunities for continuous professional development (CPD) and learning for fun.

Happy learning!