The Ultimate Manual to G Suite Admin Training

G Suite, also known as Google Workspace, is a collection of cloud computing and productivity apps for business use. As an administrator, you have the ability to add users, remove users, set up mobile devices, manage billing settings, and so much more.

To be an effective G Suite admin, you need to know the ins and outs of Google Workspace—and it all starts with admin training.

What is G Suite Admin Training Anyway?

G Suite admin training is designed to give Google Workspace administrators the skills and confidence they need to use the platform and all its tools effectively.

There are several different training options to consider, including resources on the Google Workspace Learning Center, Coursera, Udemy, and more.

All of the training resources follow a similar path. You’ll go through a series of online training videos and tutorials that will teach you how to perform different functions in Google Workspace.

Some of the online training courses are general courses about G Suite and Google Workspace. Others focus more on the administrative functions of G Suite.

For example, here are some generalized courses on using Google Workspace:

These free on-demand training courses from the Google Workspace Learning Center cover the basics of G Suite tools. You’ll learn how to perform simple and advanced functions within apps like Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, and more.

However, these courses don’t dive deep into the admin role of G Suite.

For admin-specific training, the Google Workspace Administration Specialization training on Coursera would be a much better option.

How G Suite Admin Training Works

G Suite admin training is designed for people managing an existing G Suite domain or planning to deploy G Suite for their business. Most courses start with basic concepts at the beginner level and get more advanced as you continue through each lesson.

The exact amount of time required to complete a course or lesson depends on the path you take. It also depends on the amount of time you plan to allocate to your training.

If you put in roughly six hours per week, you should be able to finish all five courses on Coursera’s Google Workspace Administration Specialization in about two months.

The cool part about these lessons is that they’re 100% online, and you can go at your own pace. So it’s not like you have to set aside a specific time each day of the week (although that’s helpful).

In some cases, you’ll get a certificate upon completion of the course or training lesson.

Let’s take a closer look at two of the best G Suite admin training resources on the market today. Each one is a bit different, so this guide can help you determine which one is the best option for you.

Google Workspace Administration Specialization

Google Workspace Administration Specialization contains five courses on G Suite and is designed explicitly for admin training.

The training is built for complete beginners, so you don’t need to have any prior knowledge or experience using the G Suite admin console. It will teach you how to master the foundations of Google Workspace and configure the settings to meet your organization’s specific needs.

You’ll also learn things like user security, application security, single sign-on options, mail routing options, and more. The course is available on Coursera and takes about two months to complete if you put in roughly six hours per week. So you could always finish it faster if your schedule permits.

For each course within the specialization, you’ll go through a series of lessons to help you master a specific skill in G Suite. Each course contains information on a particular part of Google Workspace and requires you to complete a hands-on project before you finish. After completing a course and the project, you’ll get a certificate to share with your employer and professionals in your network.

Coursera’s pricing is not particularly clear. Specializations through Coursera start at $39 per month, and you have multiple enrollment options. Some courses may be free, while others may require an upgrade to receive the certificate of completion. Some specializations also come with a seven-day free trial.

Here’s a brief overview of each course in the specialization and what you’ll learn:

Course 1: Introduction to Google Workspace Administration

This course is an excellent starting place for anyone beginning their G Suite admin training journey. It covers best practices for managing and establishing G Suite and the basics of managing users, managing access, and configuring your Google Workspace security settings.

Upon completion, you’ll be able to:

Set up a new Google Workspace account
Navigate through the G Suite admin console
Understand the key properties in the G Suite directory
Provision users and calendar resources in G Suite
Understand the different types of admin roles
Use the help center to manage your account

Course 2: Managing Google Workspace

This training resource focuses on G Suite’s core services. It covers Gmail, Drive, Docs, and more. The course is designed to help you get familiar with the different settings for each app and teaches you how to enable them for different types of users.

After completing the course, you’ll have the ability to:

Enable or disable G Suite services for different areas of your organization
Configure settings for core services (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs)
Facilitate mobile device management options
Learn how to use Google Vault
Navigate and analyze Google Workspace admin reports
Use the basics of multi-domain management

Course 3: Google Workspace Security

As the name implies, this G Suite training resource covers the security aspects of Google Workspace. Keeping your users and data in G Suite secure must be a top priority for all organizations. So this is one of the most important aspects of G Suite admin training.

The course covers:

Password policies and recovery options
User protection settings
Best practices and enforcement of two-step verification
SSO options
Difference between third-party identity providers and Google as an identity provider
Cloud-based enterprise SAML application integration
Integrating LDAP-compliant apps into Google Workspace
Managing the Google Workspace Marketplace
Security alert settings

Course 4: Google Workspace Mail Management

This course teaches admins how to protect their organizations from malware, spam, phishing, spoofing, and other attacks. It also covers mail routing options and data loss prevention (DLP) best practices for mail.

You’ll learn more about:

Domain Name System (DNS) and how to identify record types in Google Workspace
Add email security measures to your DNS records
Protecting users from malware and inbound phishing attacks
Controlling end-user access to different features in G Suite
Configuring email safelists, blocklists, and approved sender lists
Compliance features in Google Workspace
Mail routing options available to the G Suite admin

Course 5: Planning for a Google Workspace Deployment

This is the final course in the admin specialization series. The training sessions introduce you to Google’s deployment strategies and best practices. To get through this lesson, you’ll play the role of a technical project lead that needs to deploy Google Workspace to your users. The deployment will focus on technical provisioning, data migrations, mail flow, and more.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll have the G Suite skills required to:

Use Google’s three-stage deployment strategy
Define how users, groups, and other objects get provisioned in G Suite
Manage mail routing and routing configurations
Migrate mail, calendar, and contacts data in G Suite
Manage coexistence challenges
Handle change management and understand why change makes projects fail

Google Workspace (G Suite) Admin – The Complete Course

The Google Workspace admin course from Udemy is another excellent example of G Suite admin training. This course costs $74.99, but Udemy often has deals and discounts where you can get 50% off or more, so keep an eye out for those.

Unlike the other training resources for G Suite admins, this one is a bit more technical. It’s still designed for G Suite beginners, but it helps to have some basic knowledge of IT and cloud concepts.

You’ll need to have an active domain and be able to create a Google Workspace Admin Console if you haven’t already.

The complete course contains 21 sections with 224 lectures in total. It comes with 20 articles, 12 downloadable resources, lifetime access, and a certificate of completion. The video time totals 34 hours and 10 minutes. Here’s an overview of the different sections:

Introduction — 5 lectures (22 minutes)
Getting started with Google Workspace — 13 lectures (1 hour 48 minutes)
User provisioning — 7 lectures (1 hour 23 minutes)
User management — 11 lectures (1 hour 13 minutes)
Group management — 9 lectures (1 hour 32 minutes)
Buildings and resources — 8 lectures (51 minutes)
Managing organizational units — 5 lectures (26 minutes)
Managing core apps — 33 lectures (5 hours 16 minutes)
Security management — 18 lectures (2 hours 41 minutes)
Device management — 29 lectures (4 hours 50 minutes)
Domains management — 4 lectures (25 minutes)
Google Sites overview — 9 lectures (1 hour 39 minutes)
Email routing and flow controls — 13 lectures (1 hour 52 minutes)
Reports — 15 lectures (2 hours 33 minutes)
Google Vault Introduction — 12 lectures (1 hour 46 minutes)
Migrating to Google Workspace — 10 lectures (2 hours 57 minutes)
Managing Google Workspace with GAM — 9 lectures (1 hour 3 minutes)
Closing and Review — 2 lectures (13 minutes)
Extra: Calendar Interop Setup — 3 lectures (54 minutes)
Extra: Google Cloud Identity — 8 lectures (36 minutes)
Extra: Google Apps Script and APIs — 1 lecture (2 minutes)

You can complete some of these sections in a single sitting. Others, you’ll likely want to break up over a couple of days.

How to Get Started With G Suite Admin Training

Now that you understand the core concepts of G Suite admin training, it’s time to get started. Here are the tactical steps you need to take to start your first G Suite admin training sessions:

Step 1: Define Your Goals and Be Honest About Your Skill Level

Why are you interested in G Suite admin training? This is not a rhetorical question.

You should have a clearly defined goal based on your reasoning, as this will give you more direction on how to approach your training.

Maybe you’re an administrator for a company that’s switching to Google Workspace, and you need to get ahead of the curve before you can deploy it. Or maybe you’re a job seeker and want to get a G Suite admin certification to show prospective employers.

You could also be a general Google Workspace user that wants to advance your knowledge and prepare for a potential promotion or opening as a G Suite administrator.

Your goals will not only impact which courses you take, but they will also play a role in how fast you need to complete your training.

Make sure you’re honest about your skill level and experience. Even though some beginner lessons might seem a bit redundant and boring, you don’t want to blow through them if you don’t have a firm grasp of the concepts. Most courses build on what you learn in the previous lesson. So don’t rush to skip ahead unless you’re confident with your skills.

Step 2: Choose a Course and Complete the Lessons

There are tons of different G Suite admin courses to choose from.

Don’t overwhelm yourself with the options, and don’t try to take more than one course simultaneously. That’s definitely not the best way to learn.

Instead, select a course that aligns with your goals and timeline. My top two recommendations are the Google Workspace Administration Specialization from Coursera and the G Suite Admin Course from Udemy.

Both take roughly the same amount of time to complete, but they’re each unique.

The Udemy course is slightly more technical and has a broader range of lessons. In comparison, Coursera is a bit more beginner-friendly and has some hands-on learning exercises you need to complete for each course. There’s even a role-play scenario where you’ll act as a technical project lead to deploy users.

Step 3: Obtain Your Certification and Deploy G Suite

The completion of a complete G Suite admin course could take up to a month or two. At the end of your training, you will have a certification to show your employer or prospective employers.

Now it’s time to put your knowledge to the test.

If you’re deploying G Suite in your organization, you’ll need to follow the tips and best practices in the lessons. Onboard users, manage security settings, manage groups, set up mail settings, and more.

For those who aren’t active G Suite admins, continue to sharpen your skills and take another course. This continued learning will make it easier for you to succeed when you ultimately land yourself in a G Suite admin seat.