Microsoft Copilot for Productivity Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Business Managers, Project Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-AI-076

Before you join: Participants should be confident users of Microsoft 365 applications, especially Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Teams and Excel.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Microsoft Copilot can reduce time spent drafting documents, summarising meetings, analysing data and locating organisational knowledge, but value depends on task design, source quality, permissions and review discipline. Staff need more than a list of prompts: they must decide when Copilot is appropriate, provide useful context, verify outputs, protect sensitive information and retain accountability for decisions. Poorly framed requests and unmanaged access can produce inaccurate content, expose confidential material or create work that requires extensive correction.

This course develops practical use of Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat for everyday professional work. Participants learn prompt patterns for drafting, rewriting, summarising, analysing and planning; use Copilot in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, Teams and OneNote; and apply grounded prompting to approved files, meetings and organisational content. The course also covers responsible AI controls, Microsoft Purview considerations, output validation, accessibility, workflow redesign and introductory agent concepts. Participants assess where Copilot can assist rather than replace professional judgement.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings, guided demonstrations, realistic cases, peer review and structured application planning. Cases reflect common work in public bodies, banks, NGOs and corporate functions, including policy briefings, board packs, project updates, customer communications and spreadsheet analysis. Each participant leaves with a role-specific Copilot productivity plan, a reusable prompt library, an output-review checklist and a prioritised list of work processes suitable for controlled adoption.

The course suits professionals who already use Microsoft 365 and need to apply Copilot reliably in their own role. It is particularly relevant to managers, analysts, project staff, communications teams, business support functions and digital adoption leads responsible for improving knowledge-work processes.

What you will be able to do

  • Design structured prompts using role, task, context, source and output constraints
  • Produce and revise business documents with Copilot in Word and Copilot Chat
  • Create meeting summaries, action registers and follow-up communications from Teams content
  • Analyse spreadsheets using Copilot-assisted formulas, trends, exceptions and visualisations
  • Build presentation outlines, speaker notes and audience-specific narratives in PowerPoint
  • Evaluate Copilot outputs using source checks, fact checks and human-review criteria
  • Apply Microsoft 365 permissions, data-handling rules and responsible AI controls
  • Develop a role-based Copilot adoption plan with measurable productivity use cases

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Reduce drafting time for recurring emails, reports, briefings and meeting follow-ups
  • Create higher-quality prompts tailored to documents, data, meetings and organisational sources
  • Identify and correct unsupported claims before sharing AI-assisted work
  • Use Copilot features across Microsoft 365 applications with clearer task selection
  • Build a credible personal plan for improving recurring knowledge-work processes

For your organisation

  • Increase consistency in routine reports, correspondence, meeting records and presentation materials
  • Reduce time spent locating information and preparing first drafts from approved sources
  • Strengthen responsible AI use through practical review, privacy and permission controls
  • Identify high-value Copilot use cases before committing resources to wider adoption
  • Create shared prompt patterns and workflow standards for Microsoft 365 users

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can distinguish Copilot capabilities, limitations and appropriate professional use cases.

  • Microsoft 365 Copilot architecture, grounding sources and tenant permission boundaries
  • Copilot Chat compared with application-based Copilot experiences and retrieval modes
  • Generative AI strengths, failure modes and human accountability requirements
  • Task suitability matrix for drafting, summarising, analysis and decision support
  • Prompt inputs: role, objective, context, sources, constraints and format
  • Source grounding versus open web responses and associated verification needs

Participants can write, refine and reuse structured prompts for professional tasks.

  • RTCF prompt pattern: role, task, context and output format
  • Specify audience, tone, length, exclusions and acceptance criteria explicitly
  • Few-shot examples for replicating approved writing and analytical patterns
  • Iterative prompting through critique, revision requests and alternative drafts
  • Break complex assignments into staged prompts and review checkpoints
  • Prompt library structure using task labels, source notes and version dates

Participants can create and improve controlled business documents using Copilot.

  • Draft policy notes from approved source documents and defined requirements
  • Transform rough notes into structured reports with headings and actions
  • Rewrite content for executives, technical teams, customers and public audiences
  • Compare document versions to identify material changes and unresolved issues
  • Use document-grounded questions to locate evidence, gaps and contradictions
  • Apply plain-language editing while preserving legal, policy and technical meaning

Participants can use Copilot to improve communication and meeting follow-through.

  • Summarise email threads into decisions, dependencies, risks and next actions
  • Draft reply options with stated tone, commitments and approval boundaries
  • Prepare meeting agendas from project objectives, open issues and stakeholders
  • Teams recap interpretation: contributions, decisions, actions and unresolved questions
  • Create action registers with owners, deadlines, dependencies and escalation routes
  • Convert meeting outputs into concise follow-up messages and work plans

Participants can use Copilot-assisted analysis while retaining control of spreadsheet logic.

  • Inspect workbook structure, tables, named ranges and data quality issues
  • Request descriptive statistics, trend analysis and exception identification from datasets
  • Generate formula explanations before accepting calculations into operational workbooks
  • Create pivot-table questions for budget, service and performance analysis
  • Identify outliers using thresholds, comparisons and stated business rules
  • Validate calculations against source data, assumptions and independent checks

Participants can develop audience-appropriate presentation materials with Copilot assistance.

  • Build presentation outlines from reports, meeting notes and strategic objectives
  • Create slide narratives using situation, complication, question and answer structure
  • Convert dense source material into executive-level messages and decision points
  • Draft speaker notes with evidence, transitions and anticipated stakeholder questions
  • Review slide content for unsupported claims, repetition and unclear recommendations
  • Adapt presentations for boards, programme teams, funders and operational staff

Participants can retrieve, synthesise and organise approved knowledge using Copilot.

  • Frame research questions with scope, source preferences and evidence requirements
  • Distinguish organisational knowledge retrieval from general web-based information requests
  • Synthesize multiple approved files into themes, conflicts and unanswered questions
  • OneNote prompt patterns for project logs, learning notes and decision records
  • Cite source locations and preserve traceability for high-stakes outputs
  • Recognise incomplete retrieval, stale content and conflicting source material

Participants can apply practical controls to Copilot-assisted work before release.

  • Microsoft Purview concepts: sensitivity labels, retention and information protection
  • Permission trimming and oversharing risks in Microsoft 365 content repositories
  • Human-in-the-loop review for factual accuracy, tone and policy compliance
  • Verification checklist covering sources, calculations, citations and confidential information
  • Bias and representational harm checks for public-facing and people-related content
  • Escalation criteria for legal, financial, safeguarding and regulatory decisions

Participants can identify controlled automation opportunities and define suitable agent requirements.

  • Map recurring work using trigger, inputs, process steps, outputs and owners
  • Select Copilot use cases through volume, effort, risk and value scoring
  • Distinguish personal prompts, shared prompt libraries and purpose-built agents
  • Copilot Studio agent concepts: knowledge sources, instructions and guardrails
  • Define agent boundaries, handoff points and human approval requirements
  • Measure workflow improvement through cycle time, rework and quality indicators

Participants can produce a practical plan for responsible Copilot use in their role.

  • Prioritise personal use cases using impact, feasibility, data readiness and risk
  • Document baseline effort, output quality and intended productivity measures
  • Create reusable prompt cards for three recurring work activities
  • Set review steps for sensitive, regulated and externally distributed outputs
  • Plan stakeholder communication, user support and feedback collection methods
  • Establish a 30-day adoption plan with milestones and accountability

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Role-based Copilot productivity plan
  2. Structured prompt library
  3. AI output verification checklist
  4. Copilot use-case prioritisation matrix
  5. Microsoft 365 data-handling decision guide
  6. 30-day adoption action plan

Who should attend

  • Business Managers — need reliable Copilot-supported reporting, planning and communication
  • Project Managers — need faster status reporting, meeting follow-up and document coordination
  • Business Analysts — need assistance analysing data, requirements and operational information
  • Communications Professionals — need controlled drafting, editing and audience-specific messaging
  • Executive Assistants — need efficient preparation of briefings, correspondence and action logs
  • Digital Adoption Leads — need practical patterns for responsible Microsoft 365 Copilot rollout

Skills and tools covered

Prompt engineeringCopilot workflow designAI output validationSpreadsheet analysisResponsible AI governanceAdoption planning

Tools and standards

Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Copilot Chat, Copilot Studio, Microsoft Purview

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings followed by instructor demonstrations in Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Chat and related applications. Participants work through realistic documents, meetings, email threads, spreadsheets and presentation scenarios, then compare prompt designs and review output quality against defined criteria. Group exercises address privacy, permissions, source selection and escalation decisions. Facilitated simulations examine common failure modes, including incorrect summaries and unsupported claims. The final sessions convert learning into role-specific use cases, prompt patterns and an adoption plan.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should be confident users of Microsoft 365 applications, especially Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Teams and Excel. They should understand their organisation's normal document, meeting and data-handling practices and be able to describe recurring work tasks they want to improve. Previous experience using generative AI is useful but not required. Coding, data science, machine learning knowledge and Copilot Studio development experience are not required. Participants should have access to a laptop and, where possible, a Microsoft 365 Copilot-enabled training or work account.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should already be comfortable using core Microsoft 365 applications and handling routine business documents, emails and spreadsheets. No programming, AI engineering or previous Copilot experience is required.

Participants should bring a laptop with access to Microsoft 365 where possible, plus examples of non-confidential recurring tasks they want to improve. The trainer will provide course materials and scenarios for participants without access to a Copilot-enabled account.

It suits knowledge workers, managers, analysts, project staff, communications teams, executive support staff and digital adoption leads. It is designed for people who need practical Copilot use in documents, meetings, email, data analysis and presentations.

This course focuses on Microsoft Copilot within Microsoft 365 work patterns, including Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint and OneNote. It also addresses Microsoft permissions, organisational content, Microsoft Purview concepts and controlled workplace adoption.

Participants identify recurring tasks from their own role and convert them into structured Copilot use cases. They leave with prompt cards, review controls and a 30-day plan that can be used immediately with appropriate organisational approval.

The programme provides approximately 32.5 contact hours across five 08:30-16:30 training days. Time is divided between Copilot foundations, application-specific workflows, responsible AI controls, workflow redesign and role-based application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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