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Free course · PLC programming

Siemens TIA Portal

This free beginner course teaches Siemens TIA Portal from first principles: how a PLC works, wiring sinking and sourcing sensors, ladder logic, timers, counters, interlocks, 4-20 mA scaling and reusable function blocks, using a simulated S7-1200 and a WinCC HMI. It suits UK apprentices, electricians, maintenance technicians and career changers heading for factories, water sites and food and drink plants. It helps with PLC technician and controls roles, but cannot promise one.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Beginner
Modules
22
Video
28 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Configure an S7-1200, write ladder logic with timers, counters, comparators and analog scaling, structure it into reusable function blocks, drive a WinCC HMI screen, and prove all of it in simulation.

  • Read a ladder rung and predict what the PLC will do with it
  • Wire sinking and sourcing sensors to an S7-1200 without guessing
  • Build timers, counters and comparators into working interlocks
  • Scale a 4-20 mA analog input to real engineering units
  • Structure a program into reusable function blocks instead of one long routine
  • Drive a WinCC HMI screen and link it to live PLC tags
  • Find a fault using the online monitor rather than by rewriting code
  • Prove a complete program in S7-PLCSIM with no hardware at all

Software

The current TIA Portal trial (21 days) with S7-PLCSIM

Hardware

None, everything runs in simulation

Syllabus

22 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1What Automation Is, and What a PLC Actually Does2 lessons
  2. 2Inside the PLC, Hardware and the Scan Cycle2 lessons
  3. 3Wiring Basics, Sinking, Sourcing and 24 V DC1 lessonLab
  4. 4Meet Siemens and TIA Portal4 lessons
  5. 5Your First Project and Hardware Configuration2 lessons
  6. 6Addressing, Inputs, Outputs and Memory3 lessons
  7. 7Simulation, Running a PLC You Do Not Own1 lessonLab
  8. 8Contacts and Coils, The Two Symbols That Matter2 lessonsLab
  9. 9Logic Gates in Ladder Form2 lessons
  10. 10Latching, Holding and Interlocks3 lessonsLab
  11. 11Putting It Together, Your First Real Program2 lessons
  12. 12Timers, TON, TOF, TP and TONR6 lessonsLab
  13. 13Counters, CTU, CTD and CTUD3 lessonsLab
  14. 14Set, Reset and Edge Detection2 lessonsLab
  15. 15Comparators, Making Decisions on Values6 lessonsLab
  16. 16Maths Instructions5 lessonsLab
  17. 17Moving and Converting Data3 lessonsLab
  18. 18Analog Signals and Scaling, The Skill Employers Test2 lessonsLab
  19. 19Program Control, Jump, Label and Return2 lessons
  20. 20Functions and Function Blocks, Writing Reusable Code1 lessonLab
  21. 21Your First HMI Screen2 lessonsLab
  22. 22Capstone Project and Final Assessment4 lessons

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Practise in the labOptionalTry a task from the module in the EDWartens Lab, in your browser.
  5. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

EDWartens Lab

Practise this in the EDWartens Lab

Write and test the same ladder logic in the Lab's PLC simulator, go online and force inputs. The Lab uses a vendor-neutral editor, so brand software stays in the course.

Works alongside Siemens TIA Portal. The Lab is plc programming practice in your browser: no install, no hardware, free to use. Sign in as a learner and it opens with your account.

Open the free lab See the Lab
PLC programming: Program a PLC, see it run.

Levels to try with this course

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Why practise in a lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

  • Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
  • The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
  • Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for Siemens TIA Portal

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

Jobs

Jobs this course can lead to

The skills in this course are used in PLC and industrial automation work, for example as a PLC technician, a controls technician and a maintenance technician. No course can promise a job, and employers also look for experience, so read what live adverts ask for.

Pay: Advertised PLC engineer roles show a median of £60,000, with 147 permanent adverts in the six months to 27 October 2026 against 80 a year earlier. Source: ITJobsWatch (advert-based, an IT-category sample). Checked 27 Oct 2026.

Questions

About this course

Last reviewed 28 October 2026.

Is this enough to get a PLC programming job in the UK?
On its own, no. Employers look for site experience, an engineering background and safe working habits as well. The course gives you a solid grounding in TIA Portal and ladder, plus working simulations you can talk through at interview.
Do I need a PLC, and is the software free?
No PLC is needed because everything runs in simulation. You do need TIA Portal on a Windows PC that meets Siemens' requirements. Siemens sells it under its own terms, so check its current trial and licensing before you begin.
What is the £19 certificate?
A paid certificate of completion from EDWartens, £19 including VAT. It is not issued by Siemens, it is not a regulated qualification, and CPD is not accredited. The course is free to learn whether or not you buy it.
Is TIA Portal free?
Not permanently. Siemens sells TIA Portal licences and has offered a time-limited trial, 21 days in the guides we checked on 28 October 2026. Confirm the current terms on Siemens Industry Online Support. You can watch the lessons and take the quizzes without it, and you can practise ladder logic in the free browser PLC simulator in the EDWartens Lab.
What is the difference between TIA Portal and STEP 7?
TIA Portal is Siemens' engineering framework, and STEP 7 is the PLC programming tool that runs inside it. Siemens describes STEP 7 as the tool to configure, program, test and diagnose all SIMATIC controllers, and says TIA Portal also brings WinCC Unified for HMI screens and SINAMICS Startdrive for drives. In this course you use STEP 7 to program the S7-1200, WinCC to build the HMI screen, and S7-PLCSIM to test it, all inside TIA Portal.
Which programming languages are used to program a PLC?
Most PLCs, Siemens included, are programmed in the languages defined by the international standard IEC 61131-3. According to the IEC, the current edition, IEC 61131-3:2025, defines structured text as the textual language and ladder diagram and function block diagram as the graphical languages, with sequential function charts used to structure programs. This course starts with ladder logic, the language most beginners meet first, and builds up to reusable function blocks.
The trial is 21 days. Is that enough for a 22-module course?
It is if you install it at the right moment. Check when the trial clock starts before you install, because in some licences it begins on installation or first use, so installing on day one can waste days you have not used. Modules 1 to 3 need no software at all, so do those first, then install before module 4. That leaves the full 21 days for modules 4 to 22, which is comfortable at about an hour a day. If the trial does run out before you finish, the remaining lessons still make sense to watch and the assessments do not require the software.
Do I need a real PLC?
No. Every exercise runs in S7-PLCSIM, the simulator included in the trial. A physical S7-1200 is useful later, but nothing in this course requires one and no exercise assumes you have one.
What kind of computer do I need?
A 64-bit Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise machine (the current TIA Portal V21 no longer supports Windows 10 Pro; older versions such as V17 still install on Windows 10) with administrator rights to install, at least 8 GB of RAM and 20 GB free on the drive (Siemens recommends 16 GB and an SSD with about 50 GB free). TIA Portal does not run on macOS or Linux; people do run it in a Windows virtual machine, but give the VM plenty of memory or it will be painful.
I have no electrical background. Is that a problem?
No, and the first three modules exist for exactly that reason. They cover what a PLC is, what the scan cycle means, what 24 V DC is, and how sinking and sourcing inputs differ, before any software is opened.
Is the course really free?
Yes. Every module, every practice task and every assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and so the assessments can be marked. The only paid item is the certificate, and only if you decide you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it a Siemens qualification?
It is an EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, and it carries a unique number anyone can verify on our site. It is not a Siemens credential and we will never describe it as one. Siemens issues its own certifications separately, and no third party can award them.
Will this course get me a job?
On its own, no course will. What it gives you is a program you wrote and can talk through in an interview, which is more than most new graduates bring. It covers the Siemens fundamentals that appear in almost every automation job advert worldwide, and it is a reasonable way to find out whether the work suits you before paying for anything.

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Want a live class and career support?

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module
Engineers talking beside an automation test rig, one looking up and smiling