Autodesk AutoCAD Training: Beginner

Yes. You’ll receive all practice drawings, templates, and supporting materials so you can revisit exercises and continue learning at your own pace.

Yes. The training aligns with Autodesk Certified User exam topics, giving you a strong foundation if you wish to pursue official certification.

Our AutoCAD courses are taught on Windows computers. You can join the beginner and intermediate levels of the training even if you use a Mac, but in order to do the advanced (3D) level of training, we highly recommend using a Windows PC, as the interfaces and capabilities of Mac and PC are quite different when it comes to the 3D tools.

Absolutely. You’ll learn how to organise projects efficiently, manage layers, use blocks, and apply templates to maintain professional standards.

Yes. You’ll learn shortcuts, workflow strategies, and professional tips to work faster and more effectively.

Yes. You’ll practice creating floor plans, elevations, sections, and other standard architectural or engineering documentation.

Yes. The course includes text, dimensions, and annotation techniques to meet industry standards and ensure clarity in your designs.

Yes. The skills are applicable to a wide range of disciplines, including architecture, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, and construction.

Yes. You’ll learn how to prepare drawings for print and digital delivery, including scaling, layouts, and output settings.

Yes, but only during the advanced level of the training. The 3-day advanced course includes 3D modelling, visual styles, and basic rendering to help you present designs professionally.

Definitely. AutoCAD integrates with Revit, Civil 3D, Inventor, and other Autodesk software, allowing for more complex workflows.

Not necessarily, but for optimal performance we recommend a modern computer with at least 8GB RAM, a multi-core processor, a dedicated graphics card, and sufficient storage for large drawings.

Yes. While AutoCAD can seem complex at first, structured hands-on training helps students quickly understand tools and workflows.

Most learners gain confidence after a few days of guided instruction, with proficiency developing through continued practice and application.

Absolutely. The course teaches how to create drawings suitable for both printed blueprints and digital delivery formats.

Yes. During the advanced level training, you’ll practice basic 3D visualisation, camera navigation, and creating walkthroughs to communicate your designs clearly.

Yes. The training equips you with professional skills applicable to freelance projects, client work, or your own personal projects.

Yes. AutoCAD is versatile and applicable to a wide range of design fields beyond traditional architecture and engineering.

The most effective method is structured, project-based training where you follow real-world exercises, supported by instructors who can answer questions and provide guidance.

Autodesk offers free educational licenses for students and educators, allowing you to access full features during your training period.

No. AutoCAD is only available through Autodesk’s subscription model. Educational licenses or professional subscriptions are required to continue using the software.

Absolutely. AutoCAD is widely used in architecture, engineering, construction, and manufacturing, making it a highly sought-after skill in the job market.

Absolutely. You’ll learn how to organise drawings with layers, assign properties, and use layer management tools for professional standards.

Yes. You’ll learn to attach, manage, and coordinate external drawings to streamline collaborative projects.

Yes. The course covers layouts, viewports, title blocks, and plotting to produce print-ready drawings.

Yes. You’ll become proficient in using shortcuts, command aliases, and efficient workflow strategies to save time.

Yes. You’ll practice creating visually appealing drawings, rendered images, and layouts suitable for client presentations.

Yes. The course covers both measurement systems, including setting units and dimension styles for your projects.

Our address is: 3 Laybourne House, Admirals Way, London, E14 9UH. We are located only a couple of minutes’ walk from both the Canary Wharf and South Quay stations.

The courses start at 10am and runs until 4pm with a lunch break and a couple of short coffee breaks throughout the day.

We usually have between 4-7 students per class. So it is a very small group, which means you get a lot of individual help and attention.

If you are booking a course as an individual, payments are due at the time of booking. If you are booking through a company and you have an existing agreement with Docklands Media, you can pay on previously agreed terms.

You can pay for your training course via BACS (direct bank transfer), by using any credit or debit card including VISA, Mastercard or AMEX. We use Stripe for payment processing so the entire payment process is encrypted and secure.

We provide the workstations, notepads, light snacks, biscuits, coffee, tea and chocolate (lots of it!) during the course, so you don’t need to bring anything along.

If you feel more comfortable using your own computer, you certainly can. Just make sure you let us know ahead of the course, so we can prepare a workstation for you to connect your laptop.

If you are attending a public scheduled training course with other students, then you would be following a pre-determined outline. This is to ensure that everyone benefits from the training. However, if you would like to use your own files during the course (perhaps you are working on a project that you’d like to use as a case study), check out our Tailored Training page.

You can join the course online instead of travelling to our London studios. You will take part in a live classroom session with real instructors and students, interact, ask questions, and follow demonstrations just like being in a physical class. Online courses run on Zoom or Teams and are more affordable than in-person training. During the course, you will watch your instructor’s screen and practice on your own computer. If needed, the instructor can guide you by taking control of your mouse. To join online, you need: a decent broadband connection (HD video call quality), headphones or speakers and a microphone. Optional: a dual-monitor setup to follow instructions on one screen and practice on the other (a single monitor works too).

If you're joining the course remotely as an online student, then yes. If you don't have the license for the software yet, you can also download and use the free trial version during the training. After the course, you will need to get a full license in order to continue using the software. If you're attending the course in person at our offices, we would be providing the computers and the software for the duration of the training.

Yes – as long as you give us 10 days’ notice, you can postpone your course to another date without any charges. For full details on cancelation and postponing, please refer to our T&Cs.

Yes, we have a limited number of paid parking spaces allocated to students on site. If you require parking, please mention this at the time of your booking as the spaces need to be reserved in advance.

Yes, there are a plethora of restaurant and cafe options within walking distance to our studios.

Yes, you can bring your own lunch and store it in one of our fridges. We also have microwaves and sandwich makers available for you to use.

Unfortunately not. We are on the first floor of a three storey building and there are around 10 steps you would need to climb to get to our offices.

If you are joining the course remotely online, the training materials are usually sent to you in the morning of the first day of your training. This is done via Zoom or Teams, so please ensure you are able to receive files through these platforms before joining the session. If you are joining the course in person, all of the files will be placed on your workstations before you arrive.

Most of our courses come with training materials that you can keep after the course. You can also keep all the files that you create during the course so that you can refer to them in the future.

Depending on which course you attend, you will need to have a computer that meets the minimum requirements for the particular software that will be used. Please ensure you check that you are able to install and launch the software before joining the session.

If you notify Docklands Media in writing and receive a response which acknowledges your notification at least 20 working days before the first day of your course, you will receive a full refund. If, for whatever reason, you withdraw within 20 working days the following fees will remain payable: 20 – 11 working days prior to course commencement: 50% of course fee 10 – 0 working days prior to course commencement: 100% of course fee

Yes, if you notify Docklands Media in writing and receive a response which acknowledges your notification at least 20 working days before the first day of your course, you will receive a full refund.

For any course related questions, you can either directly contact your account manager or email us at info@docklandsmedia.com

Yes - all courses come with a lifetime technical support. So if you have any questions about anything that you've learned on the course, you can contact us for assistance.

Yes - every public scheduled course comes with a free retake option that is valid for 24 months. Please note, this does not apply to private/tailored/custom courses.

Yes - at the end of each course, you will receive a certificate of completion from Docklands Media.

Autodesk and Adobe have their own certification exams, which you can take at the end of the course. These exams are optional and incur an additional fee. As a Certiport Authorised Testing Centre, we offer these exams to be taken either at our premises in London or remotely online as EFHs (Exams From Home). The Autodesk Certification Exam that you can take is called Autodesk Certified User. The Adobe exam is called Adobe Certified Professional. Both of these are available to be booked on their own or as part of your course booking.

Most of our public courses run during week days, but we can arrange a tailored training course for you during weekends or evenings.

You can book a course as far in advance as you like and up to the day before it's scheduled start date. However, since most of our courses get fully booked, it may not be possible to book with less than a couple of weeks' notice. That being said, it's always worth giving a shot and if the course is fully booked, we will let you know what the alternative dates are.

Our courses run quite regularly - roughly once every 6-8 weeks. You can always check the next available start dates for the courses on their corresponding pages, under the "dates" tab.

Yes - we can issue an invoice for your employee to pay for your course. Just make sure you select the "pay by invoice" option when making the booking and enter the details of your employee for an invoice to be sent to them.

Yes - you can pay for your course from pretty much anywhere in the world.

No, there are no hidden fees associated with any of the bookings. What you see on checkout is what you'll pay.

Yes - we cannot issue a certificate of completion without you completing the course.

If you aren't going to be available for part of your course, please do let us know in advance and we will do our best to provide you with a recording of the session(s) you missed. This will be subject to availability and GDPR rules as there may be others joining the same session, who may not want the session to be recorded.

Most of our courses are taught on Windows PCs. However, there is almost no difference between the two platforms when it comes to the actual software. So if you are a Mac user, you can still attend any of our courses and learn how to use the software. If, for any other reason, you'd like to bring your own Mac to the class, you'd be more than welcome to do so.

All of our instructors are certified trainers and professionals in their respective fields. They all have real life experience in design, animation, programming, architecture, modelling, vfx and CGI. So you will not only learn how to use a software, but will also benefit from their vast real-life experience. For more information about our instructors, please visit our About Us page.

The classes are relatively small, so you can expect to receive a lot of personal attention during the sessions. As long as your questions are relevant to the software you're learning and what is being taught on the course, you can ask as many of them as you like.

We are right between the Canary Wharf (Jubilee and Elizabeth Lines) and South Quay (DLR) stations. You can access both of these stations from pretty much anywhere in London. You can also take a bus to Canary Wharf and walk to our offices, which takes around 5 minutes. The buses that serve our area are: 135, 227, D7, D8 and SL4.

Although not compulsory, we do recommend having a webcam and turning it on to make the training experience more enjoyable for both yourself and others. If you don't have one, or don't want to be on camera, that's also perfectly fine.

Yes - you can let us know with at least one day's notice and we can move your booking from classroom to online. Going the other way (online to classroom) would be subject to availability.

Yes - as long as you let us know at the end of your first training day, we offer a full money back guarantee. We're pretty certain that you will enjoy your training session, but if you find it is not for you, we'd try our best to make things right. If you're still not satisfied, we'd be happy to offer a refund.