FANUCFree
Free, self-paced
Free courses in automation, electrical and AI
Video lessons from respected creators, organised into courses with notes, quizzes and a final exam. Start any course today; buy a certificate only if you want one.
- Courses
- 199
- Hours of video
- 3,295+
- Learning paths
- 21
- Certificate (optional)
- £19
Start here
Start here by goal
Free courses for people working or training in the UK and Ireland, from PLCs and electrical work to maintenance and AI. 199 courses are free to learn. Pick the page that matches what you want to do.
BS 7671 and the 18th Edition
Free learning for Amendment 4. Not the City & Guilds exam course.
Ladder logic with a simulator
Ten steps and eight exercises, practised in your browser.
Career changers and jobseekers
Free courses, plus the funded routes to check, UK and Ireland.
Free engineering courses (UK)
Every course, with UK standards and an honest comparison.
Maintenance engineer path
Ten courses from fault finding to CMMS, in UK terms.
Electrician to PLC path
Use what you know about wiring and relay logic to learn PLCs.
All 199 free courses
Search, or narrow by subject, brand, level, length and learning path. Every course is free to start; the certificate is optional.
Showing 12 of 199 courses
- Vendor-neutralFree
- Vendor-neutralFree
- Vendor-neutralFree
- Vendor-neutralFree
- Delta ElectronicsFree
- SiemensFree
- SiemensFree
- Allen-BradleyFree
- BeckhoffFree
- CODESYSFree
- SiemensFree
How it works
Learn at your own pace
Watch and read
Short video lessons with notes, in a set order, so you always know what is next.
Check yourself
A short quiz after each module, then a final exam when you are ready.
Pass, then decide on a certificate
Learning stays free either way. If you pass the final, you can buy a certificate.
- Only if you want one: the lessons, quizzes and final exam are free.
- Issued when you pass the final exam.
- Has a number and QR code, so an employer can check it is genuine.
- Add it to your cart from any course card above.
Learning paths
Courses that go together
Suggested sets for a role, in a sensible order.
13 courses
Siemens engineer path
The Siemens stack most plants actually run: TIA Portal from zero, the S7-1200 instruction series, program structure, HMI panels, interrupts, PID, commissioning, Factory I/O projects, the S7-300 installed base, advanced S7-1500, safety, WinCC SCADA and LOGO!.
5 courses
Rockwell engineer path
RSLogix 500 for the MicroLogix and SLC base, Studio 5000 for CompactLogix and ControlLogix, the Micro800 with CCW, and FactoryTalk View for the panels.
4 courses
PLC foundations
One PLC from scratch, the networks it talks over, the HMI on the door and the panel it lives in. The four things a maintenance engineer meets on day one.
4 courses
SCADA specialist
Four of the most widely installed SCADA platforms: InTouch, Ignition, WinCC and Citect, from tags to alarms, history and clients.
4 courses
Process control
Instrumentation, PID loops and drives on top of a PLC: the combination process plants, water boards and pharma lines hire for.
7 courses
Industrial robotics
FANUC, ABB and KUKA, three of the robot brands most common on automotive and electronics lines, plus the servo and motion control they sit on.
4 courses
Machine-builder PLCs
Mitsubishi, Omron, Schneider and Delta: the compact controllers inside packaging, textile, plastics and food machines.
3 courses
IEC 61131 and software PLCs
CODESYS, TwinCAT and Automation Builder: structured text, PC-based control and the IEC languages behind hundreds of PLC brands.
4 courses
Electrical and mechanical fundamentals
Before the PLC: the electrical basics a technician works by, motor control with contactors and starters, pneumatics and hydraulics, and the control panel that holds it all. The base every automation engineer stands on.
4 courses
Electrical design engineer
The three schematic tools tenders name: EPLAN Electric P8, AutoCAD Electrical and SOLIDWORKS Electrical, with the panel-building course to know what the drawings become.
3 courses
Power systems and electrical design
From the load schedule to the signed study: electrical design engineering for loads, cables and breakers, ETAP for load flow, short circuit, coordination and arc flash, and motor control for what the drawings feed.
4 courses
Building services engineer
The MEP consultant's toolkit: electrical design for the loads, Revit MEP for the BIM model, DIALux evo for the lighting and a BMS course for how the building is controlled once built.
3 courses
Mechanical and product CAD
AutoCAD for 2D drafting, SOLIDWORKS for machine building and Fusion 360 for products and 3D printing: three modellers, one set of habits.
3 courses
IIoT and OT security
Industrial networks, Node-RED for data and dashboards, and ISA/IEC 62443 to keep the plant safe once it is connected.
4 courses
Control theory to the loop
MATLAB and Simulink for the theory, PID control for the practice, instrumentation for the signals and VFDs for the actuators.
4 courses
Japanese PLC platforms
Omron Sysmac and CX-Programmer, Mitsubishi GX Works3 and GX Works2: the controllers inside many packaging, textile and automotive machines, especially in Asia.
4 courses
AI foundations for engineers
From zero code to a working AI assistant: Python on engineering data, how large language models actually work, prompting for engineering documents, and AI agents and workflow automation with n8n.
4 courses
Applied AI engineer
The four skills AI job posts name most: machine learning with scikit-learn, computer vision with OpenCV, deep learning with TensorFlow and Keras, and RAG chatbots with LangChain, each with a plant project.
4 courses
Industrial AI engineer
AI where the machines are: where it sits beside PLC and SCADA, predictive maintenance on real run-to-failure data, machine vision quality inspection with YOLO, and plant data over Modbus and OPC UA in Python.
10 courses
Maintenance engineer path (UK)
Free UK maintenance engineer learning path: fault finding, motors, sensors, pneumatics, PLC basics, permits and CMMS. Optional £19 certificate.
6 courses
Electrician to PLC path
Free PLC path for electricians: relay logic to ladder, motor control, sensors, PLC wiring and HMI. Optional £19 certificate.
By platform
Courses by manufacturer and subject
- Siemens
- Allen-Bradley
- Mitsubishi Electric
- OMRON
- Schneider Electric
- Delta Electronics
- ABB
- Robotics
- PLC programming
- SCADA
- HMI
- DCS
- Drives and motion
- Instrumentation and process control
- Industrial networks
- Electrical design and panels
- Universal Robots
- Yaskawa
- Machine safety
- Industry 4.0 and IIoT
- Cybersecurity
- Pneumatics and hydraulics
- Electrical design software
- Control engineering
- Building automation
- CAD and 3D design
- AI and machine learning
- AI for professionals
- AI certification preparation
- Generative AI and ChatGPT
- IT security and SOC
- OT and ICS security
- Data centre
- Electric vehicles
- Solar and energy storage
- Power systems
- Maintenance and condition monitoring
- Quality, Lean and Six Sigma
- Project management
- Industrial automation
- PLC and SCADA
- Engineering students
Questions
About free courses
Are the courses really free?
Yes. Every lesson, quiz and the final exam are free. If you pass the final, you can choose to buy a certificate; that is optional.
Who made the lessons?
The video lessons are by respected creators and manufacturers on YouTube, credited on each course page. We write the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam that tie them into a course.
Do I need an account?
You can read every course page without one. To track progress, take the quizzes and the final, create a free account and confirm your email.
What does the certificate cost?
£19 per course, including VAT, and only if you want one. It is issued when you pass the final exam, with a number and QR code employers can check.
How do free courses relate to the paid courses?
Free courses are self-paced and free. The Professional Module is a five-day live online class with an instructor, career support and a CPD certificate; the AI Module is a self-paced course with graded projects. Many learners start free, then move on to one of them.