Labs give you the chance to apply your knowledge, confirm your understanding, and get some hands-on practice. Each lab includes access to in-browser tools and objectives with step-by-step instructions.
Labs can be standalone experiences or part of a course. All labs come with a secure, temporary environment, so you can practice without worrying about disturbing your production environment or local setup.
When to use labs
Use labs to practice concepts you've learned from courses. For example, say you're learning Python. You've watched multiple courses and taken a Skill IQ. Labs fill that hands-on need to practice and apply your learning in a real-world environment.
Labs are also a great way to connect prior skills and knowledge to newly learned skills and knowledge. You can find labs paired with associated content in select paths. For leaders, labs also serve as a good assessment tool—add a lab to a company channel to serve as a practical exam for your learners.
Types of labs
There are three main types of labs:
- Code labs belong to the Data and Software Development categories. These are guided labs in an in-browser coding environment that checks your work along the way as you complete tasks.
- Hands-on labs are self-guided, timed labs that open a live environment in a separate browser tab. Hands-on labs cover Cloud, IT Ops, and Security topics.
- Google Cloud self-paced labs are authored by Google Cloud. These direct you outside Skills to a Qwiklabs environment.
Who can access labs
Reference the table below to learn which labs can typically be accessed with each subscription or plan. This is a general mapping—some labs are included in multiple categories.
Note: Full access to labs is not included in a free trial. Upgrade your individual trial or team trial for access to all labs included in your subscription or plan.
| Individual subscriptions | Team plans | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lab type | Core Tech | AI+ | Data+ | Security+ | Cloud+ | Complete | AI + Data | Security + Cloud | Everything |
| Code labs (software development) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Code labs (data) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
| Hands-on desktop labs (IT ops) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hands-on desktop labs (security) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
| Cloud labs (Hands-on and Google Cloud) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
Finding labs
- Click Hands-on in the navigation menu.
- Click the Hands-on Labs tab.
- Use the Lab Type and Category filters to further narrow your search.
Note: Google Cloud self-paced labs are indicated with a Google Cloud icon.
You can also find labs in the following areas within Skills:
- The Browse all page (opens in new tab) or the search bar
- Use the Content type filter to narrow your search to Labs.
- From within Paths (opens in new tab) or Channels (opens in new tab) that contain labs
- If you've started a lab:
- On your Home page (opens in new tab) under Continue learning
- On your History page (opens in new tab)