I am finding it difficult to navigate around the software and am finding I continually need to switch between the "select" and "hand" tools manually, is there any easier way to do this?

Yes, you can use the middle mouse button to switch between the "select" and "hand" tools.

If you start on the "select" tool pressing and holding down the middle mouse button will switch to the "hand" tool allowing you to pan around the working area easily, when the middle mouse button is no longer pressed down the cursor will default back to the "select" tool.