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Data Analytics Essentials
Intermediate · Hybrid

Data Analytics Essentials

A skills path for learners who want to interpret data, spot patterns, and communicate insights clearly.

  • Starts 17 Aug 2026 · 8 weeks
  • 8 hours a week
  • GH₵ 450.00
ApplySee the syllabus

Overview

Move from raw information to insight using spreadsheets, dashboards, and core analysis habits that employers value.

Category

Data

Topics

Excel; Dashboards; Data storytelling

Skills and tools

  • Excel and Google Sheets
  • Data cleaning
  • Formulas and lookups
  • PivotTables
  • Descriptive statistics
  • Charts
  • Dashboards (Power BI / Looker Studio)
  • Data storytelling

What you’ll learn

By the end of the course you will be able to:

  • Clean and prepare messy data so it can be trusted
  • Use formulas, lookups and PivotTables to summarise data
  • Describe data with averages, spread and trends
  • Choose and build the right chart for a question
  • Build an interactive dashboard in Power BI or Looker Studio
  • Present findings and recommendations to decision-makers

Who it’s for

Learners who already use spreadsheets and want to turn data into decisions: graduates, office and NGO staff, and anyone moving towards an analyst role.

Before you start

  • Comfortable with basic spreadsheet use (typing data, simple formulas)
  • Secondary-school mathematics

What you’ll need

  • A laptop with Excel or Google Sheets
  • A free Power BI or Looker Studio account, set up in the first week
  • About 8 hours a week

Syllabus

8 modules · 64 hours of guided learning

  1. Module 1Thinking with data6 h

    Asking good questions and understanding where data comes from.

    Topics

    • Types of data
    • Asking answerable questions
    • Spreadsheet essentials

    You’ll produce: A question plan for a real dataset

  2. Module 2Cleaning data8 h

    Making data ready for analysis.

    Topics

    • Finding errors and duplicates
    • Text, date and number fixes
    • Tidy data layout

    You’ll produce: A cleaned dataset

  3. Module 3Formulas and lookups8 h

    Calculating and combining data.

    Topics

    • IF, SUMIFS, COUNTIFS
    • XLOOKUP / VLOOKUP
    • Named ranges

    You’ll produce: A calculated summary sheet

  4. Module 4Summarising with PivotTables8 h

    Answering questions fast.

    Topics

    • PivotTables
    • Grouping and filtering
    • Comparing groups

    You’ll produce: Pivot summaries answering three questions

  5. Module 5Statistics for decisions8 h

    What the numbers really say.

    Topics

    • Averages and spread
    • Percentages and growth
    • Correlation, not causation

    You’ll produce: Analysis report

  6. Module 6Visualising data8 h

    Charts that make the point clear.

    Topics

    • Choosing a chart
    • Design for clarity
    • Avoiding misleading charts

    You’ll produce: A chart pack

  7. Module 7Dashboards10 h

    Bringing it together for decision-makers.

    Topics

    • Power BI or Looker Studio basics
    • Filters and interactivity
    • Dashboard layout

    You’ll produce: First dashboard

  8. Module 8Data storytelling8 h

    From analysis to action.

    Topics

    • Structuring a data story
    • Recommendations
    • Presenting to an audience

    You’ll produce: Final dashboard, presented

Projects

Work you build during the course and keep for your portfolio.

Clean-up challenge

Take a messy real dataset and make it ready for analysis.

Analysis report

Answer three questions an organisation is asking, with evidence from its data.

Final dashboard

An interactive dashboard for a local organisation, presented to its decision-makers.

How you’ll learn

Live sessions

each idea is shown on a real dataset and practised straight away.

Real data

you work with datasets from Ghanaian businesses and NGOs, not textbook examples.

Presenting

every module ends with you explaining what the data shows.

Assessment

Weekly exercises: 30%

Analysis report: 30%

Final dashboard and presentation: 40%

A pass is 60% overall with the final project completed.

Certificate

A certificate of completion from IT For Youth Ghana for at least 80% attendance and a passed final project.

Where it can lead

  • Data analyst (entry level)
  • Business analyst assistant
  • Monitoring and evaluation officer
  • Research assistant
  • Next step: Python for Problem Solving

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be good at maths?

You need secondary-school maths. The statistics you need are taught on the course.

Excel or Google Sheets?

Either. Everything taught works in both.

Is this a programming course?

No. It uses spreadsheets and dashboard tools. Python for Problem Solving is the next step if you want to analyse data with code.

Data Analytics Essentials

  • Starts 17 Aug 2026 · 8 weeks
  • 8 hours a week
  • GH₵ 450.00
Apply