At 8:10 we are told to use the NLA editor but it is not there and I am not aware how to open it, and if is not suppsed to be there how do you keep it open and save it so that you dont need to do it again for other files?
Here he shows how to open it:
I do not understand the second part of your question, sorry.
Spikey's right about that one. It may also be helpful to be familiar with the animation editors in general before jumping into this course since it is more advanced.
Taking this fundamentals course first is highly recommended: https://cgcookie.com/course/fundamentals-of-animation-in-blender-2-8x