## Which route suits you if you want to learn Claude?
You created an account, asked a few questions and noticed that Claude writes well. After that, things often stall: you use it as a search engine with better sentences, and you know there is more to it. Then the question comes up of how to really learn to use Claude for your own work.
There are three routes: free self-study with Anthropic's own material, a Claude course in a group or as e-learning, and one-on-one Claude training. This article helps you choose. If you first want to know what Claude actually is, read what is Claude and how does Claude work. If your main doubt is between group and individual training for AI in general, that is covered in choosing an AI training.
What can you learn for free through Anthropic?
Anthropic, the company behind Claude, runs its own learning platform: Claude Academy. The platform describes itself as free courses on Claude and AI. Two courses are relevant for beginners (as of November 2026):
- Claude 101: 13 lessons totalling about 2.5 hours, for anyone getting started with Claude at work. It gives you a tour of projects, artifacts, skills, connectors and Research.
- AI Fluency: Framework and foundations: 14 lessons of about 4 hours on how to work well with AI, independent of any single tool.
After a course you can take a final assessment and earn a completion badge. There is also the Claude Help Center with guides per feature, and for those who want to go deeper, the prompt engineering documentation, including an interactive tutorial.
Two caveats. Everything is in English, which matters if you or your team prefer Dutch. And the material is general by design: it explains what a feature does and leaves the translation to your quotes, your customer emails or your admin to you.
What does a group Claude course or e-learning give you?
A group course is a classroom or online session with several participants and a fixed structure. E-learning is pre-recorded material you work through at your own pace. Both work well if you want a team to build the same foundation at the same time, or if you need structure and a deadline to keep going.
The limitation lies in application. A group moves at the pace of the average participant, and the examples come from businesses other than yours. When choosing, check a few things: does the trainer use Claude daily, is the material updated for the current features, and can you bring your own work?
When is one-on-one Claude training the better choice?
In one-on-one training you work with a single trainer on your own tasks. You start where you are and you leave with something you will use the next morning. That suits business owners, freelancers and professionals who have little time and want to solve a concrete problem.
At AI Agent, Tarik Eraslan delivers the one-on-one AI training himself. A session lasts 3 hours, on location in Amsterdam-Zuid or online via Microsoft Teams. You choose between two levels: Advanced (Gevorderd) for €449 excluding VAT and Specialist for €579 excluding VAT. You receive material based on your own session and a 30-minute follow-up call at a time you choose.
Self-study, course or one-on-one: the overview
| Free self-study | Group course or e-learning | One-on-one training | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Varies by provider | €449 or €579 excl. VAT (AI Agent) |
| Time | Claude 101 about 2.5 hours, AI Fluency about 4 hours | Fixed programme | 3 hours |
| Tailored to your work | No, you translate it yourself | Limited | Yes, you work on your own tasks |
| Asking questions | Help Center and documentation | During the session | Throughout the session, plus follow-up call |
| Suits | Self-starters with time and discipline | Teams that want a shared foundation | Anyone who wants to be productive in their own work quickly |
What do you learn at each level?
Claude training only pays off if the level is right. Roughly, there are three steps.
Basics. You learn to give good instructions: provide context, ask for a role and a format, and check the answer. You learn to work with projects in Claude: workspaces with their own chat history, their own instructions and their own documents. According to the Help Center, even a free account can create up to five. Claude 101 and an article such as what is a prompt cover this level well.
Advanced. You build reusable tools without code. In the Advanced training we set up Claude Projects with your own knowledge base, you design instructions and skills, and together we build one concrete thing that you test during the session. You also learn which tool to use for what, because Claude is not always the best choice for every task.
Specialist. You start working with Claude Code, custom skills, MCP connections (a standard that lets Claude reach external sources) and agents. In the Specialist training you get a live tour of the setup Tarik uses every day, you go deeper into system prompts and multi-step workflows, and we build one solution for your work that you can extend yourself afterwards. If you mostly work with documents and Office, also look at Claude Cowork.
How do you choose the right Claude training?
Start with three questions:
1. How much time do you have to figure things out yourself? If you can free up a few evenings and English is no barrier, start with Claude 101. It costs nothing. 2. Do you want knowledge or a working result? A course gives you an overview. A one-on-one session delivers a project, skill or workflow you use straight away. 3. Are you learning alone or with a team? For a team that needs to start together, a group format fits. On your own, individual training is faster.
Not sure what level you are at? Take the free AI literacy test first: 55 questions, and with a score of 70% or higher you receive a certificate. The result shows which topics you already master and where your gaps are, which helps you choose between Advanced and Specialist.
How do you prepare for Claude training?
The better you prepare, the more you get out of three hours:
- Pick two or three tasks you do manually now and that keep coming back, such as drafting quotes, answering customer questions or summarising reports.
- Prepare sample material without personal data or confidential client information. An anonymised email or an old quote works fine. Read more in AI and privacy.
- Arrange access to Claude. A free account is enough for the basics. For the features in Advanced and Specialist, discuss beforehand which subscription you need.
- Write down where you get stuck. Concrete frustrations are the best starting point for a session.
Do you need a Claude certificate for your work?
Not by law. Article 4 of the EU AI Act has applied since 2 February 2025 and was amended by the Digital Omnibus on AI, Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, which entered into force on 27 July 2026. Organisations must take measures that support the AI literacy of their people, with no fixed mandatory level. In its AI literacy Q&A, the European Commission states that a certificate is not needed; an internal record of training is enough (as of November 2026). More context is in the EU AI Act explained.
There is a practical reason to learn, though. The Exact SME Barometer (August 2026, more than 1,700 Dutch business owners) found that 70% use AI and 47% do not know how to use it effectively. And research by ABN AMRO and MWM2 among 777 organisations (June 2026) shows that 78% of Dutch SMEs use AI, while 9% have a formal policy for external AI tools.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free Claude course? Yes. Anthropic offers free courses through Claude Academy, including Claude 101 (13 lessons, about 2.5 hours) and AI Fluency: Framework and foundations (14 lessons, about 4 hours). The material is in English and general in scope.
What does one-on-one Claude training cost? At AI Agent, the one-on-one AI training costs €449 excluding VAT at the Advanced level and €579 excluding VAT at the Specialist level. A session lasts 3 hours, on location in Amsterdam-Zuid or online via Microsoft Teams, with a 30-minute follow-up call.
Which level suits me, Advanced or Specialist? Advanced fits if you already use Claude regularly and want to build projects, knowledge bases and skills without code. Specialist suits power users, founders and developers who want to work with Claude Code, MCP connections and agents. The free AI literacy test helps you assess where you stand.
Do I need a paid Claude subscription to learn? Not for the basics. A free account can, for example, create up to five projects. More advanced features require a paid subscription; discuss beforehand which plan fits what you want to build in the training.
Is a certificate mandatory under the EU AI Act? No. Article 4 asks organisations to take measures that support AI literacy, with no fixed level. According to the European Commission's Q&A, a certificate is not needed (as of November 2026).
Getting started with Claude?
Start for free with Claude 101 if you have time to practise on your own. If you want to set up Claude for your own work in a single half-day, there is the one-on-one AI training, Advanced or Specialist. Unsure about your level? Take the AI literacy test first. After the training you get a 30-minute follow-up call. If you then want to keep building together in your own accounts, you can do that on an implementation day.
