Free, Virtual Ways to Enhance Your Skills
Hey Lakers! We are so proud of you as you continue to be bold and driven in your pursuit of professionalism despite unusual circumstances.
Remember, skills pay bills! Whether it is a highly technical skill like SAP, GoogleAnalytics, or a soft skill such as navigating crucial conversations or understanding nonverbal communications, many companies and organizations offer free courses and virtual “conferences” to help you build your skills resume. Below, you will find a running list--that we will add to on a regular basis--of online sites offering free courses, training, and certifications. Many have additional training you can go on to purchase, which you may choose to do, but depending on your goals often isn’t necessary.
- Numerous Professional Development and Certification Programs are available through GVSU
- edX is an on-line platform offering free access to thousands of courses from colleges and universities around the country. Many do require payments but there are a large number of free courses ranging in content and skills development that you can participate in. They do offer a “verified certificate” for a small fee if you wish to purchase proof you took the course.
- Coursera is another on-line platform offering courses similar to edX although it tends to feature more business-related courses. Again, a certificate is available for under $100 if you want proof that you took the course. You may decide you can showcase your new skills to employers without the certificate in which case over 1500 courses are free. Another platform of this nature is https://alison.com/
- Here is a list of 41 classes you can take free right now offered by The Muse website: You will see some of the edX courses on this list of courses within the following categories: Programming, Design, Online Marketing, Communication, Entrepreneurship, Writing, and New Language.
- Another way to brush up on language skills for free is Duolingo
- A top request from employers is that young professionals master Excel BEFORE they get to the workplace. Is now the time? Digitaldyfind named these 17 courses the best in the business. Many are offered through a free-trial, typically one week, which gives you plenty of time to finish the free versions of each course. You can choose to pay for more extensive sessions.
- Want to write the next binge worthy content? OpenGate Entertainment is looking for new show ideas.
- HubSpot, a digital marketing platform focused on inbound marketing, customer service, and sales, offers many free lessons through HubSpot Academy: Again, there are certifications you can pay for however there are a lot of skills you can learn and build on with the free content.
- There is a nice offering of basic courses covering business and document processes to expert certifications in automation deployment at https://www.airslate.com/academy.
- Thinking about user experience (UX) as your scrolling through all your options? You can test it out with this free UX design course. If you score 70% or higher on their final task, they will give you a discount on any certification programs they offer through their website.
- Writing a new blog? Here is a free online source for auditing the effectiveness of your content.
- Oracle offers this free content to learn SQL for database developers.
- Ranging from disability awareness to emergency preparedness, FEMA offers hundreds of free online certifications.
- Want to be certified in GoogleAnalytics? Google offers free certification courses too! Find them here.
- Grow With Google offers free training, tools, and resources to help you grow your skills, career, or business