UK

United Kingdom · Knowledge Management · Mid-Level (2-5 years)

International Document Management Assistant

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, a real day, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

  • Experience bandMid-Level (2-5 years)
  • Direct reportsNo direct reports
  • Reports toSenior Document Management Specialist
  • UK framework levelUsually a coordinator, or early in a professional job

Also advertised as Document Control Specialist · Knowledge Management Coordinator · Records Administrator · Information Governance Support

Built on an analysis of 43,079 real UK job descriptions · grounded in qualifications employers recognise

Start with a free Future Fluency check, tuned to International Document Management Assistant

Ten quick questions, one per Future Fluency, asked against this role rather than a generic one. About five minutes, and no card.

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1What this role really is

This role is all about keeping our critical company documents in order, making sure everyone can find what they need, when they need it, and that we're playing by the rules globally. You'll be the person who knows where everything lives and how to get it there properly. Think of it as being the librarian for our entire digital brain, but with much higher stakes than just overdue books.

2What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

SharePoint OnlineIntermediate

Daily use for document check-in/out, versioning, applying metadata, and managing files within established site structures. You'll be troubleshooting basic user access and navigation issues.

M-FilesIntermediate

Regularly using M-Files for its unique metadata-driven approach to document management, ensuring documents are correctly classified and workflowed according to their content, not just their location.

Microsoft TeamsIntermediate

Using Teams for internal communication, file sharing within channels, and participating in document review cycles. You'll help users understand how Teams integrates with SharePoint for document storage.

Jira / ServiceNowBasic

Updating and resolving assigned tickets for document requests, access issues, or workflow failures. You'll be the first point of contact for many user queries.

Smartling / memoQIntermediate

Submitting documents for translation, tracking their progress, and retrieving completed, localised files via these translation management portals. You'll be coordinating with our LSPs.

Microsoft PurviewBasic

Following instructions to apply legal holds on specific documents and running pre-configured audit reports to check compliance. You'll be working under guidance from senior team members.

3What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing inWhere you are nowThe step above
Document Categorisation & Metadata ApplicationFollows explicit instructions and templates; escalates ambiguous cases.Independently applies established metadata schemas; identifies and flags inconsistencies or gaps for review.Designs and refines metadata schemas; makes recommendations for new content types and governance rules.
User Access PermissionsGrants access based on pre-approved requests following strict guidelines; escalates all exceptions.Manages routine access requests within defined policies; identifies potential security risks and escalates.Defines and audits access control policies; approves complex permission structures for new projects or teams.
Document Retention & DispositionIdentifies documents for disposition based on system reports; seeks approval for all actions.Executes disposition actions according to approved retention schedules and legal holds; flags exceptions or ambiguities.Develops and updates retention schedules; advises Legal on legal hold implementation and eDiscovery processes.
Process Improvement SuggestionsIdentifies minor inefficiencies in own workflow and suggests small adjustments.Identifies process bottlenecks or areas for efficiency gains within assigned workstreams and proposes solutions to manager.Leads initiatives to redesign and optimise significant document management workflows across departments.

4How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, honestly: the hard targets, how often each one is actually looked at, and the quiet human signals that never make it onto a dashboard.

Document Processing SLA Adherence
How often you meet the agreed-upon timeframes for processing new or updated documents.
Target · 98% of documents processed within 8 business hours

If 100 new contracts come in, 98 of them should be correctly tagged and filed within 8 hours. Missing two means we're at 98%.

Metadata Accuracy Rate
The percentage of documents where all mandatory metadata fields are correctly filled out.
Target · >99.5% accuracy on mandatory fields

Out of 200 documents checked, only one had an incorrect client name or document type. That's 99.5% accuracy.

User Ticket Resolution Time (L1 Support)
The average time it takes you to resolve basic user requests or issues related to document access or location.
Target · 95% of L1 tickets resolved within 24 hours

If someone can't find a policy, you should typically get them sorted within a day. If you consistently take longer, we'll need to figure out why.

Version Control Compliance
How consistently documents follow our versioning standards (e.g., major vs. minor versions, correct numbering).
Target · Zero critical version control errors identified

No instances where an old version of a contract was sent out or a critical policy was overwritten without proper versioning.

Process Adherence & Improvement Suggestions
You're not just following the rules; you're thinking about how to make them better. This means consistently sticking to our established document management processes, but also spotting where things could be smoother.
  • You'll be able to point to specific instances where you identified a bottleneck or a confusing step and proposed a sensible fix. Your manager will see that you're not cutting corners, but rather looking for smarter ways to work within the framework. We'll also look for your contributions to process documentation updates.
Stakeholder Feedback on Responsiveness
How well you communicate with internal teams when they have document-related queries or requests. Are you clear, helpful, and timely?
  • Feedback from Legal, Sales, or Product teams will highlight your helpfulness and quick responses. They'll say things like, 'They always get back to me quickly and usually have the answer,' or 'They helped me understand why I couldn't find it and showed me where to look next time.' We'll get this through informal check-ins and occasional surveys.
Proactive Issue Identification
You're not just waiting for problems to land on your desk. You're spotting potential issues before they become big headaches, like inconsistent tagging or impending retention deadlines.
  • You'll bring up things like, 'I noticed the marketing team isn't consistently tagging their campaign assets, which will make them hard to find later,' or 'We've got a batch of old HR files coming up for disposition, should I start prepping them?' This shows you're thinking ahead and taking ownership.

5Would you like it

The honest version. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Bringing Order to Chaos

You get a real kick out of taking a messy folder of documents and turning it into a perfectly organised, searchable resource. The satisfaction of a clean, compliant system is what gets you going.

You'll spend an hour meticulously correcting metadata on a batch of old marketing assets, and honestly, you'll feel pretty good about it afterwards because you know someone will find them easily now.

Being the Go-To Expert

You enjoy being the person everyone comes to when they can't find something, or they need to know the 'right' way to save a document. You like having that specific, valuable knowledge.

When the Legal team asks you to pull all documents related to a specific client from 2020, you'll know exactly how to query the system and deliver it, feeling good about your expertise.

Ensuring Compliance & Mitigating Risk

The idea of the company being exposed to legal or audit risk because of poor document handling genuinely bothers you. You're driven by the desire to keep everything above board and secure.

You'll diligently apply legal holds and retention policies, knowing that your actions are directly protecting the company from potentially huge fines or legal battles.

What frustrates people
  • Fighting the constant battle against users who save critical documents to their desktops or a labyrinth of personal folders instead of the official repository.
  • Being the 'document police' and chasing senior leaders who refuse to follow the naming conventions or fill out the required metadata.
  • The 'vague search' request: 'Can you find that presentation Bob from Marketing made about the European project? I think it was last quarter. It had a blue slide.'
  • Explaining for the fifth time in a week that 'Final_Report_v2_Johns_edits_FINAL.docx' is not a valid or helpful filename.
  • When an automated workflow fails because a stakeholder was on vacation for two weeks, creating a massive bottleneck that becomes your emergency to fix.
What this role does not give you
  • A lot of creative freedom or 'blue-sky' thinking; this role is about structure and adherence.
  • Frequent, high-level strategic decision-making; your decisions are mostly tactical and process-focused.
  • A fast-track to people management; this is an individual contributor role.
  • The ability to ignore rules or 'bend' processes for convenience; consistency is key here.

6Who you work with

Your work directly impacts our operational efficiency and regulatory compliance. If documents aren't managed properly, we risk legal penalties, lost intellectual property, and significant time wasted by employees searching for information. You're essentially preventing chaos and building trust in our information systems, which, frankly, is a pretty big deal.

Inside the business
  • Legal & Compliance Team
  • Sales Operations
  • Product Development Teams
  • Regional Business Units (e.g., EMEA, APAC)
  • IT Support Desk
Outside the business
  • Translation Service Providers (LSPs)
  • External Auditors (occasionally)
  • Software Vendors (e.g., M-Files, SharePoint support)

7What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • At least 2 years of hands-on experience working with an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) or Document Management System (DMS), ideally SharePoint Online or M-Files.
  • Demonstrable experience in applying metadata, managing document versions, and adhering to strict naming conventions.
  • A proven track record of resolving user support queries related to document access or location.
  • Experience working in an environment with formal document retention policies and legal hold procedures.
  • A solid understanding of basic information security principles, especially around data confidentiality and access control.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly.

8What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced Workflow Automation (Power Automate)

Many routine document approval and review processes can be automated. As you become more senior, you'll move beyond just using workflows to actually building and optimising them, saving huge amounts of time for the business.

Flow Triggers & Actions · Conditional Logic · Error Handling · Integration with other M365 services

  • This week: Explore the Power Automate interface and look at existing flows in our environment.
  • This month: Complete a basic online tutorial on building a simple approval workflow in Power Automate.
  • Month 2: Identify one small, manual document process that could be automated and draft a basic flow for it (even if it's just a proof of concept).
  • Month 3: Work with your Senior Specialist to implement a minor improvement to an existing workflow.

Quick win: Create a simple Power Automate flow to send you a daily summary of new documents uploaded to a specific SharePoint library. It's a low-risk way to learn the basics.

Information Governance Policy Application

As regulations become more complex, simply knowing 'what' to do isn't enough. You'll need to understand 'why' and how to translate high-level legal requirements into practical system configurations and user guidance.

Retention Labels & Policies · Data Loss Prevention (DLP) · Legal Hold Management · Audit Logging & Reporting

  • This month: Ask your Senior Specialist to walk you through how we configure retention labels in Microsoft Purview.
  • Month 2: Read our internal Information Governance policy and identify how it translates into system settings.
  • Month 3: Shadow a legal hold process, understanding the steps from legal request to system application.
  • Month 4: Take an online course or certification on Microsoft Purview Information Governance features.

Quick win: Review the retention labels applied to a specific document library and ensure they align with our current policy. Flag any discrepancies.

9Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Regularly participate in webinars and online forums related to SharePoint, M-Files, or general document management best practices.
  • Take online courses on specific topics like Power Automate or Microsoft Purview to deepen your technical skills.
  • Join relevant professional associations (e.g., IRMS - Information and Records Management Society) to network and stay updated on industry trends.
  • Attend internal training sessions on new system features or compliance updates.
  • Shadow senior team members to learn about more complex information governance challenges and solutions.

10How the AI economy is changing work like this

Before we ask anything of you, here's what we can already say about AI and work of this kind:

The new skill this role is being asked for: AI-Assisted Content Curation & Tagging

AI is getting smarter at understanding document content. Instead of manually tagging every field, you'll be validating AI suggestions. This means less manual grind and more focus on accuracy and strategic oversight.

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

Your PlanIllustration

Built for International Document Management Assistant

2 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Data Management Software SkillsAIM Qualifications · covers 2 of 5 standardsEntry Level
  2. Supporting business activitiesInstitute of Administrative Management · covers 1 of 5 standardsLevel 4
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

AI-Assisted Content Curation & Tagging

AI is getting smarter at understanding document content. Instead of manually tagging every field, you'll be validating AI suggestions. This means less manual grind and more focus on accuracy and strategic oversight.

  • Machine Learning for Classification
  • Confidence Scores
  • Feedback Loops
  • Entity Recognition

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Document Lifecycle Management (DLM)
  • Taxonomy & Metadata Management
  • Information Governance & Records Management
  • Version Control Discipline

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

  1. 1

    Document Control Assistant / Clerk

    1-2 years

    Skills to master

    • Basic document processing, accurate data entry, adherence to filing protocols, foundational understanding of version control.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistently meets SLAs for document processing.
    • Demonstrates high accuracy in metadata application.
    • Can independently resolve common document access issues.
    • Proactively identifies and flags minor inconsistencies.
  2. 2

    Administrative Assistant with Document Responsibilities

    2-3 years

    Skills to master

    • Organisational skills, basic records management, managing digital files, supporting multiple stakeholders, attention to detail.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Has taken ownership of a specific document repository or filing system.
    • Can troubleshoot basic user issues with digital documents.
    • Has a strong understanding of confidentiality and data handling.
    • Shows initiative in improving existing filing or retrieval methods.
  3. 3

    IT Support Analyst (Entry Level)

    1-2 years

    Skills to master

    • Basic troubleshooting, understanding of IT systems (especially M365), user support, ticket management, problem-solving.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Has experience supporting users with SharePoint or other DMS platforms.
    • Understands basic permission structures and access control.
    • Can effectively use ticketing systems like Jira or ServiceNow.
    • Shows a keen interest in information organisation and data integrity.

11Where this role leads

The long view:Your journey starts here, but where it goes is really up to you. We're committed to providing the opportunities and support for you to build a truly impactful career in Knowledge Management, whether you want to become a deep technical expert or lead a team. It's a field that's only growing in importance, so your skills will always be in demand.

Pay & demand

Pay and demand for this role will appear here, each figure traced to a named authoritative source (e.g. the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, under the Open Government Licence). We don’t show numbers we can’t attribute.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how International Document Management Assistant is actually changing. In about two minutes, the free confidence check asks where you stand on each of the ten. That's the whole check, and it's what makes the plan yours rather than generic.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

12The team that's yours

No two people are taught the same way. This is one-to-one, not one-to-many.

Zavmo is a hyper-personalised AI learning platform. Twelve virtual tutors, each with a different way of teaching, and one orchestration agent that picks the right one for the moment. So every single lesson is shaped around you, your role, and the way you learn. Not a course everyone sits through. A conversation built for you, and no one else.

…and nine more, matched to you after your first chat. Meet all twelve

Start free and meet yours

13What it feels like

A conversation, not a course

Because your tutor knows your role, your projects and your last session, learning sounds like this. And it's different for every single person:

Data Management Software SkillsEntry Level

Applied to your work in International Document Management Assistant

This unit aims to equip learners with the skills to accurately enter, edit, and maintain data records within a data management system, adhering to established procedures and data protection principles. Learners will also be able to retrieve and display data records in a clear and organised manner to meet specified requirements.

How the thinking builds
  1. Remember
  2. Understand
  3. Apply
  4. Analyse
  5. Evaluate
  6. Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

One to one, not one to many

No two people run this the same way

A course is written once and handed to everyone. This is assembled around you, and keeps changing as it learns you. Five things it reads, and what each one changes.

  1. Your actual work Every lesson is taught against a live piece of your own work, not a worked example from a textbook.
  2. What you already know The first conversation finds your starting point, so you skip what you can already do and spend the time on what you cannot.
  3. The conditions you learn under Not a learning-styles quiz. The evidence does not support those. The dimensions the research does back, read once and used to shape the plan.
  4. How far you got last time It picks up mid-thought. The tutor knows what you said, what you struggled with, and what it asked you to try.
  5. Which tutor suits the moment Twelve of them, each for a different kind of thinking. The one who walks you through a first idea is not the one who stress-tests it.

See how you learn, free. Eight questions, no sign-up. A directional taster; the diagnostic inside Zavmo goes deeper and keeps adapting.

DemonstrateIllustration

Evidenced on your work in International Document Management Assistant

You do not finish by watching something. You finish by showing it on the work you already do, against the measures this job is judged on.

  • Document Processing SLA AdherenceHow often you meet the agreed-upon timeframes for processing new or updated documents.If 100 new contracts come in, 98 of them should be correctly tagged and filed within 8 hours. Missing two means we're at 98%.98% of documents processed within 8 business hours
  • Metadata Accuracy RateThe percentage of documents where all mandatory metadata fields are correctly filled out.Out of 200 documents checked, only one had an incorrect client name or document type. That's 99.5% accuracy.>99.5% accuracy on mandatory fields
  • User Ticket Resolution Time (L1 Support)The average time it takes you to resolve basic user requests or issues related to document access or location.If someone can't find a policy, you should typically get them sorted within a day. If you consistently take longer, we'll need to figure out why.95% of L1 tickets resolved within 24 hours
  • Version Control ComplianceHow consistently documents follow our versioning standards (e.g., major vs. minor versions, correct numbering).No instances where an old version of a contract was sent out or a critical policy was overwritten without proper versioning.Zero critical version control errors identified
These are this job's own measures, with its own targets. Nothing is marked evidenced, because nobody has started this yet. Yours would fill in from the work you bring.

Your passport

This isn't a certificate you file away. It's a passport to the life you're designing.

Every credit you earn and every fluency you build adds up: evidence where it counts, carried with you. Zavmo keeps the map: where you are, where you're heading, and the next step, at your pace, around your life. From International Document Management Assistant to Senior Document Management Specialist (L3), and whatever you decide comes after.

Level 3 · in progressAI Fluency→ Senior Document Management Specialist (L3)→ your design
Where this takes you

Your journey starts here, but where it goes is really up to you. We're committed to providing the opportunities and support for you to build a truly impactful career in Knowledge Management, whether you want to become a deep technical expert or lead a team. It's a field that's only growing in importance, so your skills will always be in demand.

See Your Progress GrowIllustration
International Document Management Assistant
  • Document Lifecycle Management (DLM)
  • Taxonomy & Metadata Management
  • Information Governance & Records Management
  • Version Control Discipline
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

14The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

International Document Management Assistant is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Senior Document Management Specialist (L3)

    3-5 years in current role

    You'll move from owning specific processes to improving them and mentoring others. You'll lead smaller projects and make more technical decisions.

    • Advanced SharePoint/M-Files Configuration: Setting up new sites, libraries, content types, and managing complex permissions.
    • Workflow Design (Power Automate/Nintex): Building and modifying automated document workflows.
    • Information Architecture Principles: Applying principles to design more intuitive repository structures.
    • eDiscovery & Legal Hold Management (Advanced): Independently managing eDiscovery cases and configuring retention policies.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, a lot of document management can feel like repetitive, manual work. But what if you could offload some of that to AI? We're not talking about robots taking over, but smart tools that give you back precious hours every week. This isn't just theory; it's already happening.

In Knowledge Management, AI isn't here to replace your critical thinking or your meticulous eye for detail. Instead, it's a powerful assistant that can handle the grunt work, allowing you to focus on the more interesting, complex problems and actually improve our systems. Think of it as having an extra pair of super-fast, tireless hands.

Automated Metadata Extraction

Use AI tools (like SharePoint Syntex or custom models) to automatically read new documents upon upload. It'll pull out key bits of info like client names, project codes, and contract dates, then pre-populate those tricky metadata fields for you. Less typing, fewer errors.

Conceptual Search Enhancement

Imagine a search that actually understands what you mean, not just the exact words you type. AI-powered semantic search can find a 'Termination Clause' even if you searched for 'how to end the agreement'. This drastically cuts down on those 'I can't find...' requests.

Intelligent Document Summarisation

Got a dense, 100-page legal or technical document? AI can generate a quick executive summary for you. This means reviewers can get the gist faster, speeding up the approval process and saving everyone a lot of reading time.

Draft Policy Communications

When a new document handling policy comes out, or there's a system update, generative AI can help you draft the first version of the company-wide communication. It can even tweak the tone for different audiences – say, engineers versus the sales team. No more staring at a blank page.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become an International Document Management Assistant?

Common routes in include Document Control Assistant / Clerk (1-2 years), Administrative Assistant with Document Responsibilities (2-3 years) and IT Support Analyst (Entry Level) (1-2 years). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can an International Document Management Assistant progress to?

This role can lead on to Senior Document Management Specialist (L3) (3-5 years in current role), depending on the skills you build.

What level is an International Document Management Assistant in the UK?

This role aligns to RQF Level 3 on the UK framework, a guide to the depth of qualification it maps to, not a hard entry bar.

What new skills matter most for an International Document Management Assistant?

Increasingly, AI-Assisted Content Curation & Tagging. These are the areas where the higher-paid, future-proof work is heading.

The honest bit

You’ve started things before

Most of them were built for a room full of people who aren’t you. A cohort moves on whether or not your week allowed it, and by the third week the thing you’re behind on becomes the reason you stop opening it.

There’s no cohort here, and no timetable to fall behind. Before anything starts, Zavmo asks when you’re sharpest and how long you can realistically sit down for, then builds the sessions around those answers. A bad fortnight changes your pace. It doesn’t put you behind.

And you only pay once you start learning. Searching and planning are free, and you can cancel any time — so the cost of finding out is an afternoon, not a year.

What it costs

Less than one coaching session. Every month.

A single career-coaching hour costs more than a month of this, and it ends when the hour does. Zavmo doesn't. It's £70 a month, about £2.30 a day, for a companion that knows an International Document Management Assistant, works on the job you actually do, and keeps going at your pace rather than a timetable's.

  • Searching and planning stay free. You only pay when you start learning.
  • Your credits are yours. Regulated, and they don't vanish when a subscription ends.
  • Cancel any time and billing stops. No notice period, no minimum term.

Your path, personalised

You have the map. Walking it is the part we do together.

This route runs to 5 national skill standards. That is a real journey.

Zavmo shapes a learning experience as unique as you are. It fits how you learn, your pace and the work you already do. Every step stays benchmarked to recognised national standards. That’s the plan for becoming an International Document Management Assistant: personal to you, and it still counts. The first steps are free.

Independent research finds well-designed intelligent tutoring performs nearly as well as one-to-one human tutoring: VanLehn (2011), Educational Psychologist.

A private tutor in the UK averages £35–40 an hour . Zavmo is £70/month.

A real plan on learn.zavmo.ai: Ofqual-regulated units, credits, and a three-month run at your own pace.
Start free No commitment. See your first steps free.

15Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 3

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

Other roles in Knowledge Management

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.

If you leave this industry

The skills you'll gain here are highly transferable. You could move into roles in legal operations, compliance, IT governance, or even specialise in specific areas like eDiscovery for a different industry. Good document management is needed everywhere.

Not sure this is the right direction?

Work out what you actually want from work first, then come back and see which roles fit it. Takes about ten minutes.

This role profile is © 2026Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Build my plan, free Here's the first ten minutes: a 2-minute confidence check → your personalised roadmap → meet the tutors matched to you. No card, cancel any time. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.