Whether you’re looking for a new role or are simply in need of a productive way to occupy your time this festive season, upskilling is a great way to increase your employability and skillset.
As a Christmas gift from us to you, here’s our top paid and free course recommendations to upskill yourself just in time for the New Year’s hiring surge!
Marketing
Paid
Becoming a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketers (CIM) is more than just the title. There are many benefits to having CIM qualifications under your belt. Not only does it allow flexible studying to fit around your busy schedule, over a third of CIM graduates get promoted or receive a pay rise within 12 months of graduation (CIM Alumni Survey).
According to a CIM Marketing recruitment survey, after a degree, the three qualifications employers look for when they are hiring for marketing roles are the CIM Diploma in Professional Marketing; the CIM Certificate in Professional Marketing and the CIM Foundation Certificate in Marketing.
Find further information on the benefits of joining the CIM and the courses available, please see this website: https://www.cim.co.uk/qualifications/
Free
Thanks to the wonders of the internet, there are a plethora of free online Marketing courses available at your fingertips. Google now offer a number of sector specific free online qualifications on their Google Skillshop. The skillshop has many offerings across different industries, where you’d like to broaden your knowledge on Tech and IT, Digital Marketing or even general Career Development.
My personal recommendations which would look great on any CV include, the Google Ads Display Certification. At only 2.6 hours of online learning and suitable for beginners, there’s no reason not to! I’d also recommend Marketing Analytics for Beginners, which is 10 hours of online learning spread across 5 modules, and how Promoting your Business with Content which explores social media, video, and content marketing.
Explore the Skillshop here: https://skillshop.withgoogle.com/
Human Resources
Paid
If you’re looking to start a career in HR? Look no further than CIPD, the leading professional body for HR and people development. The CIPD Level 3 Certificate in People Management is perfect for beginners and doesn’t require any specific qualifications.
As proud sponsors of the CIPD, we’d strongly recommend anyone who is looking to further their career in HR to explore the different routes into becoming a CIPD member. To find out which CIPD membership route would suit you best, please see their interactive tool below:
https://www.cipd.co.uk/membership/become-member#gref
Free
Reed offers a variety of free HR courses to develop your skillset. The most popular course offered among these is the Human Resources Part 3: Performance Management System course. The course covers all aspects of a performance management system, taking the student through a step-by-step process of designing a performance management system from a scratch.
Enroll here: https://www.reed.co.uk/courses/human-resources-part-3-performance-management-system/316984#/courses/free/hr/online
Accounting & Finance
Paid
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is a diverse body of more than 219,000 members and 527,000 students in 179 countries, with great network connections to more than 7,400 Approved Employers and 80 accountancy partnerships worldwide.
Find more information on becoming an ACCA student below:
https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/qualifications.html
Free
The Open University has access to thousands of free online courses, that could prove extremely valuable to Accounting and Finance professionals and entrepreneurs. Their Introduction to Bookkeeping and Accounting course explores the essential numerical skills required for accounting and bookkeeping, and explains the fundamental rules of double-entry bookkeeping and how they are used to produce the balance sheet and the profit and loss account.
You can find the course application page here:
