Skills & Abilities ("T" key)

Blacksmithing:
First unlock nails, then primitive axe and primitive pickaxe, these are your basic tools you can create without needing anything other than hands (collect 5 stone and collect 2 branches to craft either). Work up your skills to a pointy axe as its the best low level melee weapon you can use on low skill level.

Building:
If your going to build a city it has to be strong so if your going to waste time grinding to gather resources you might as well just spend your points to upgrade metal walls or stone walls from the start and work up to level 4. and later work upto fortified city walls. Also start on prison door and work upto armoured door as well.
(Quick way to level building skills, just quick build as may low level walls, doors etc and either dump them or if your close to a scavenger bench and have the skills for it recycle them and rebuild them again, you can do this with many items.)

Carpentry:
First work on unlocking plank, quality plank and perfect plank. Then small chest, big chest and metal chest (the last two chests you can cypher and put your own combination on them. If your going to build a city you will need to work on unlocking all the workshops and benches at the top of the screen, so you can build and craft things in your own city.
(Quick way to level up carpentry skills, just craft as many planks as fast as you can then work your way up perfect planks give more points per log etc. No bench or workshop required)

Chemistry:
Low level priority to start unless you going to farm right away to craft fertilizers etc.

Combat:
First thing you want is guns, guns and more guns. Wrong they seem pretty weak and useless right now and ammo is very hard to find and to craft it you need a lot of resources and grinding. Work on 2 handed combat skills and work down the middle line to increase damage done.

Cooking:
Roast meat and Cooked meat skill is all you need to start really then its personal choice.
Quick way to level up cooking skills, go to the canteen use the stove behind Gertrude and cook as many raw meat gathered from killing animals as you can or use a campfire if you have crafted one. No Cooking bench required to roast meat.

Engineering:
Only two levels here so far you want picklock first though.

Farming:
Not real important but hoe and compost unlock first.

First Aid:
You going to need this up as fast as you can to repair damage:
Unlock weak bandage first, then work up the bandanges and over to first aid kits.
(Quick way to level up is by crafting as many bandages as you can. No bench or workshop required).

Forestry:
Not many skills to unlock here but cutting trees and collecting branches is the best choices.

Gunsmithing:
So many choices as usual the bigger the gun the better, but most are pretty useless.

Mining:
Unlock stone first then work down from coal mining until you get to iron mining and branch of left towards iron bars (your going to need millions of these to get anywhere later. Also work down the tree to level up pickaxes the final "Reinforced Modern Pickaxe" makes a lot of difference.
(Quick way to level up is just pick, pick, pick away at hundreds of ore deposits. You can find better pickaxes in crates around the map as long as you have the skills to craft them).

Survival:
This is the key to levelling up you character from the start, first unlock shelter, campfire, rubbish shelter, leather shelter. Then concentrate on Lockpick, Item Recovery & Item Repair (get these upto level 3).
(Quick way to level up is craft a heap of shelters to begin with you need to keep one to sleep in to regain energy as the bar drops over time. Once you level up a bit craft leather shelters as they give you more points. The item recovery and repair are most important as you find many items you cant use just yet because of your skill level if you have these skills you can take them to the shelter scavenger bench and recover resourses from them, iron bars, planks etc. Lockpick is needed to unlock crates you find on the map craft these from iron bars in the engineering tree.

Tailoring:
Not real important because most clothes you can find in crates anyway. Unlock cloth then thread first. You can make hundreds of cloth and thread to level up fast by farming cloth scrap piles found around the map in particular at the motel and inside cars.

Workshop Benches & Machines:
These can all be found at the shelter inside the canteen.
Or if you have a city craft your own.

Alchemist Workshop:
When you first walk in the Canteen its the room straight ahead and the Alchemist bench is the one by itself straight ahead and there is three tailoring machines to the right.
(craft chemicals).

Blacksmith Workshop:
Located inside the canteen in the main room off to the left with many machines and benches.
(Smith workshop is the big green machine you craft tools and weapons here and also mining items iron bars etc.)

Building Workbench:
Located inside the canteen in the main room off to the left with many machines and benches. There are three of these machines.
(Building workbench is the bench with a pinboard with plans on it. Craft all your base building parts here, walls, floors, doors etc.

Carpentry Workshop:
Located inside the canteen in the main room off to the left with many machines and benches.
(Carpentry Workshop is the flat top bench with the saw blade sticking out the top. There are four of these machines. Craft all your planks, crates, workbenches and furniture here.

Cooking Workbench:
Located inside the canteen behind Gertrude (The big lady serving all the soldiers food.)

Scavenger Workshop:
Located inside the canteen in the main room off to the left with many machines and benches.
(Scavenger Workbench is the only red one.)
Use this to repair items and recover resources provided you have unlocked the skills to use it. (Not all items can be repaired or have resources recovered from them though.)
*** Drag and drop items from your inventory into the hex icon***

Tailoring Workbench:
When you first walk in the Canteen its the room straight ahead it has three tailoring machines to the right. The bench by itself is an Alchemist bench.
(craft clothes here only).