The Skills Network Reviews 2,275

TrustScore 4 out of 5

3.8

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Most reviewers were somewhat happy with their experience overall. Many consumers found the user experience positive, highlighting the ease of navigating the platform and the helpfulness of the learning materials. People also frequently praised the staff, particularly the assessors and tutors, for their excellent feedback, responsiveness, and supportive approach. The courses themselves were often described as engaging, informative, and well-structured, contributing to a valuable learning experience. However, some people were dissatisfied with aspects of customer service and response times. A few customers reported long waiting periods for funding, issues with unhelpful or pushy staff, and a lack of transparency in processes. There were also occasional complaints about assignments not being saved, or about the company's handling of specific requests like extensions or accommodations for neurodiverse learners.

What people talk about most

User experience

Clients share positive opinions on user experience. Many reviewers found the learning platform simple to... See more

Staff

Customers consistently note positive experiences with staff. Many reviewers highlight the helpfulness and... See more

Customer service

Reviewers highlight ambiguous aspects of customer service. Many customers report excellent support, with some... See more

Service

Consumers find service to be ambiguous. Some reviewers report positive experiences, praising the friendly and... See more

Response time

Users describe ambiguous interactions with response times. Some reviewers report quick responses from support... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Great experience and my assessor Gemma was excellent turning my submissions around so quickly and giving really valuable feedback. Like many others the only thing preventing it from being 5*... See more

Company replied

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this course and found it very helpful . The lessons were clear , well - organized and easy to follow. The support from tutors was excellent - they were always ready to help and I appr... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The course was packed with information. It made me reflect and think, analyse and question. The learning slides were a good mixture of reading and videos, games and tasks that kept my attention throug... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The course was very informative indeed. I learned a great deal. The links to relevant charities were helpful in understanding what support is available for children experiencing mental health cond... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Distance Learning Centre
  2. Adult education centre
  3. Career and Education Provider
  4. Education Centre
  5. Educational institution

Written by the company

The Skills Network is one of the most successful providers of online learning solutions in the UK. Distance learning supports educators, employers and individuals around to develop new skills and knowledge, and we have a wide range of free, fully-funded courses, CPDs, Skills Bootcamps, Apprenticeships, professional qualifications and more.


Contact info

3.8

Great

TrustScore 4 out of 5

2K reviews

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Replied to 91% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 2 weeks

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The course was easy to understand and…

The course was easy to understand and interesting. I felt the way it was broken down into the different sections, really gave me a helpful target. I never felt rushed to complete each section and the notes I received were helpful and led me to be able to complete the course in good time.

12 June 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Interesting and thought provoking

The course was packed with information. It made me reflect and think, analyse and question. The learning slides were a good mixture of reading and videos, games and tasks that kept my attention throughout. The tasks were at the right level and the assignments needed thought and research but were achievable. The assignments were explained clearly and support was available if needed. Assignments were marked in a timely manner with meaningful feedback.

22 May 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I have learnt a lot how people deal…

I have learnt a lot how people deal with mental health at workplace and what they go through.
And understand how help is provided to people who really are in need of it.
It was a very a knowledgeable course.
The tutors too are always there and very helpful.

25 July 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I completed the Mental Health first Aider course

I applied to complete the Mental Health first aid course and it was full of necessary information. Tutor response was spot on and communication with the customer or learner team was very good as I had a bit of difficulty understanding the process.

25 July 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Had a really positive experience with…

Had a really positive experience with The Skills Network from start to finish. Communication throughout was very proactive and responsive, from the admin/CX teams as well as Tutors. Learning materials were very thorough and extensive, deadlines were sensible and it was easy to give myself an extra week when I needed. Tutor feedback was extensive, too. Overall I learnt a lot and would recommend doing a course with The Skills Network!

25 July 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Knowledge

Gained so much more then a certificate. The knowledge was far beyond what I anticipated.

5 May 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Pleasant Learning Experience

The Skills Network was easy to navigate and provided excellent service in teaching valuable skills for the future. I thoroughly enjoyed learning with The Skills Network.

25 July 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Event Planning Course

I applied for and completed the Event Planning course. Initially they couldn't find funding for my spot, but after a few weeks of waiting, they were able to sort out.

While the course itself is a bit clunky and some of the information to repeats itself a lot, it was overall very good. Feedback was quick and helpful, and I eventually passed with flying colours.

My advice - be patient, understand that funding takes time, and when you do get on, answer questions in full paragraph format.

3 March 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Online was very accessible.

Online was very accessible.

10 June 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Business administration lvl2

The initial phase of funding and waiting for a business level 2 course to get start took longer than I was originally told. The course was for the most part very informative and I did enhance my knowledge. You receive email reminders a full week before each assignment is due and the day before. Using the portal was well explained though I never received my welcome phone call when it was booked by them so I had to rely on videos in the portal.Did get access to a zoom meeting to help explain the first assignment which the mentor went through the admin resources email detailing each unit and requirement notes. This admin resources email proved vital for me to understand what the course answer required. The last unit on this business level 2 course has no guidelines and some sections are out of date as the hyperlinks to resources required no longer exist or the articles have been moved. Feedback was repetitive in places and I received assignments back within a week. Some sections could do with a extending the deadline as there is a lot of information to do in a week. Overall I expected the course to require serious effort and as it was all to be completed within 10 weeks was going to be an extensive learning experience. I would do another course with this company. I would suggest that a review of unit 7 of the business administration level 2 course be done soon.

17 June 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for your feedback. We're glad to hear you found the course informative and that the resources and support were helpful. We appreciate your suggestions for improvement and will take them on board as we continue enhancing our courses. It’s great to know you’d consider studying with us again.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great place to learn

Brilliant communication, tasks are very well laid out and clear, timescale is achievable.

6 May 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent course

Excellent course. Very informative and the help I received was great. A good experience.

2 June 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Holistic and completely satisfying experience.

You can learn and complete your course independently and without any hassle. The quality of the learning material and methods are up to the mark and I was very well prepared for all the interviews with the qualification. No further study was needed for me to face the job market. It’s a holistic support and learning experience.

1 April 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Really enjoyed doing the mental health…

Really enjoyed doing the mental health first aid level 2 course feedback was brilliant

23 June 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for the great feedback!

We would love to hear more about your learning experience with us and potentially feature you in our marketing activity! Please email marketing@theskillsnetwork.com if interested and we'll send you some more information.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

£100 fine if you fail despite finishing…

£100 fine if you fail despite finishing the course! Persistent phone calls and messages pushing deadlines was very intrusive. I completed the course then found a job, so I had little time to address feedback on my answers. The feedback for my answers was marked very harshly with little guidance. You are unable to copy paste your previous answer to add information to it, so you have to type everything again from scratch.

17 July 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Rubbish

Rubbish! Signed up online, filled out all my personal details and did the entire enrolment process to be told I would hear in two working days about funding. I didn’t hear from them so had to contact them myself. Suprise suprise, no funding available. Waste of everyone’s time.

14 July 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for sharing your experience, and we're genuinely sorry to hear about the frustration and inconvenience caused.

We strive to communicate clearly throughout the process and regret that this wasn’t your experience. Your feedback is valuable and will be used to improve how we inform prospective learners about funding availability earlier in the process.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I applied to study nutrition course…

I applied to study nutrition course which prerequisite to study another course starting end September
I have chronic health conditions anxiety and stated I need the full time allocated to study
Sadly still waiting to start as no funding
Communication is poor and is me emailing to chase updates
The enrolnment process was focusing had to do a few times to point I asked if scam email
This was beginning June
10th June accepted now 12th July so nearly month lost to start
I sadly may not have the time I need and pace with health issues to do

10 June 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Misleading

There is a lack of transparency here so it's not clear how these organisations fit together, but I believe my personal details were passed on to The Skills Network from Free Courses in England, and in turn by them to another organisation, plus presumably partners. The Skills Network eventually, after three weeks, sent me a strange email that was actually a rejection for the original funded course, marketing their paid courses to me. Still not sure how or why the third organisation has my data. Perhaps they're somehow related? Seems unethical and exploitative. Hope this doesn't lead to the onslaught of spam other reviewers have experienced.

11 July 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We're sorry that your experience has left you feeling confused and concerned about how your personal data has been handled.

We work in partnership with various organisations to offer funded learning opportunities, and we aim to be fully transparent about this process. We’d really appreciate the chance to clarify your specific case and reassure you about how your data has been used in accordance with GDPR.

Please get in touch with us at complaints@theskillsnetwork.com, and we’ll make sure your concerns are investigated thoroughly and appropriately.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I work part time and felt that the…

I work part time and felt that the calls I received chasing course material very intensive, more so as I have a young child to be mummy to. I shared the days I work and this was ignored, my work load was planned and felt this service was quite patronising. They can chase you for their own deadlines but when you chase them for feedback, they do not reply.

10 July 2025
Unprompted review
The Skills Network logo

Reply from The Skills Network

Thank you for your review, and we're sorry to hear that you felt overwhelmed by the contact and follow-ups during your course.

We try to offer proactive support to help learners stay on track. We take this feedback seriously and are reviewing how we can improve our approach to better respect work schedules, parenting responsibilities, and personal pace.

If you’re open to it, please reach out to us at complaints@theskillsnetwork.com, so we can look into your experience more fully.

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