30 Free Online Courses to Enhance Your Skills for Career Success

Well, different people have different experiences at this time of lockdown. While some of us are enjoying the quality time with family, others are bogged down by the thought of job uncertainties ahead. Rather than getting into the panic situation, you should consider this time as an opportunity to work on your skills and improve the profile with online studies.

If you are already thinking about how to improve your profile, fret not! We have done the legwork for you and created a list of free online courses with certificates that will help get some fair knowledge!

List of 25 Free Online Courses With Certificates

1. Photoshop Courses
2. Business Writing Skills Courses
3. Training on Advanced Excel
4. Project Management & Time Management
5. Finance for Non-Finance Professionals
6. Ted-Ed Lessons
7. Codecademy
8. Udemy
9. Skillshare
10. Udacity
11. Pluralsight
12. Coursera
13. Food & Nutrition
14. Introduction to Yoga – AICTE
15. Writing for Mass Media – SWAYAM
16. AI with IIT Delhi
17. HubSpot Academy
18. FB Blueprint
19. Google Skillshop
20. Alison Courses
21. Stanford Online Learning
22. ESRI Academy
23. GreyAtom
24. edX Online Courses
25. Future Learn
26. LinkedIn Learning
27. UC Berkeley Certification Courses
28. Machine Learning
29. Creativity Fuelling Courses
30. Khan Academy Courses

• Photoshop Courses

With the visual content gaining more popularity, why not learn Photoshop online and enhance your career prospects! Especially, if you are in the marketing field, Photoshop training can help create appealing marketing materials to convey your ideas strongly.

How to Learn Photoshop Online

1. Free Photoshop Courses by Udemy
2. Coursera Photoshop Classes in association with Top Universities
3. Adobe Photoshop Training for Beginners with Certification
4. Lynda Photoshop Courses

• Business Writing Skills Courses

Learn the art of business writing emails and other business writing skills like creating sales pitch and business copies with extensive business writing courses. An effective written business communication will help you get leadership roles and move up the hierarchy ladder quickly.

5 Best Free Business Writing Courses Online

1. edX business writing certification
2. Udemy business writing courses
3. Coursera business writing courses with certification
4. Skillshare free classes for business writing skills
5. Professional courses by LinkedinLearning

• Training on Advanced Excel

Most of us have the Excel basic knowledge but adopting enhanced Excel skills for business can help make a difference. There is a huge demand for the professionals who can perform data analysis and data visualization with Excel.

Join These MS Excel Advanced Courses

1. Data Visualization with Advanced Excel by Coursera
2. Mastering Data Analysis in Excel by Coursera
3. Free Online Excel Training by TrumpEXCEL
4. MS Excel Advanced & Basic Courses by Udemy

• Project Management & Time Management

Time management and project management skills are something that leaders look for in their counterparts. These courses that can help manage projects from beginning to end in a timely manner. There are a few project management courses by Linda, Coursera, etc. to help the future leaders prepare for the challenges today itself.

1. Time Management Course by Coursera
2. Project Management Course by Linda
3. Free Online Project Management Courses by edX
4. Alison also provides free online project management courses

• Finance for Non-Finance Professionals

There are many financial management courses and financial analyst courses to learn the basics of finance. This will help create an accurate balance sheet and perform inventory valuation and budgeting. Such courses will help play an important role in increasing the profitability of your business and give you a chance to stand out.

Finance for Non-Finance Professionals Courses

1. Join Coursera to understand the concepts of finance and accounting
2. Class Central online finance courses with the University of California
3. Finance for Non Finance Executives by NSE Academy

• Ted-Ed Lessons

Ted-Ed Lessons on educational topics are widely being shared by teachers and students. The platform has thousands of animated videos, which you can view and share. If you are curious about any topic related to online Psychology courses, Humanity, Science, Medicine or Social Science, this online platform is the best choice to stay engaged at this time of lockdown.

Some of the Popular Subjects on Ted-Ed Lessons are:

1. Design, Engineering & Technology
2. Teaching & Education
3. Psychology
4. Health
5. Literature & Language

• Codecademy

With Codecadamey, you will find different free courses related to multiple programming languages. Usually, the courses at Codecademy are of shorter duration with less than 11 hours long course modules. So, learn as many programming languages as you can and get back to your office with much more confidence.

Codecademy Free Online Courses During Lockdown

1. Learn Python in 25 hours
2. Master the basics of HTML 5 in 9 hours
3. Acquire the JavaScript fundamentals in 30 hours

• Udemy Online Classes

There are 30 plus free courses provided by Udemy to help you upskill while in the lockdown. With Udemy, you can learn web designing courses, SQL database programming, HTML and CSS, WordPress website design. If you are a leader in the making, you can also learn tips on effective decision making along with the ideas to become a convincing ‘first time’ manager.

Popular Udemy Free Online Courses:

1. How to Make a Money-Making Website with WordPress – 3 Hours
2. Introduction to Wireless Communication – 1.5 Hours
3. Insights into Cyber Crime & Electronic Evidence – 6 Hours
4. Basic SEO Tips – 44 Minutes
5. Hadoop Starter Kit – 3.5 Hours

• Skillshare Online Courses

Skillshare is also providing many free courses at this time to learn the nuances of virtual reality, JavaScript, domain name, After Affects, Video GIFs, and more. You can also learn the basics of creative writing, fine arts and photography to capitalize on your creative instincts.

Skillshare Free Online Courses During Lockdown

1. Introduction to SEO: Tactics & Strategy for Entrepreneurs – 1 hr 30 minutes
2. Digital Illustration: Learn to Use Procreate – 1 hr 7 minutes
3. Going Freelance: Building and Branding Your Own Success – 51 minutes
4. How to Make a Podcast: Plan, Record, and Launch with Success – 1 hr 4 minutes
5. Intro to UX: Fundamentals of Usability – 1 hr 21 minutes
6. Introduction to Social Media Advertising | Learn with Buffer – 53 minutes

• Udacity

Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, Udacity is providing one-month free access to their nanodegree courses, such as, Data Streaming, Front End Web Developer, Full Stack Web Developer, AI for Business Leaders, and so on. So, don’t waste your valuable time on anticipating about these uncertain times! Focus on acquiring new skills and enhance your job prospects.

Nanodegree Programs on Discount During Lockdown

1. AI for Business Leaders – 4 to 8 weeks
2. Product Manager – 4 months
3. UX Designer – 3 months
4. Data Streaming – 2 months
5. Front End Web developer – 4 months
6. Java Developer – 4 months  

• Pluralsight

Make your April month more exciting with 7000 plus free courses from Pluralsight on tech topics. The focus is on enhancing the tech skills of people and make them ready for the shifting job roles and expectations. You can learn programming languages, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and upgrade your resume.

#FreeApril Courses on Pluralsight to Skill Up During Lockdown

1. JavaScript – 9 courses, 21 hours
2. Linux Fundamentals – 3 courses, 4 hours
3. Graphic Design – 21 courses, 30 hours
4. AngularJS – 14 courses, 55 hours
5. Java – 13 courses, 48 hours, and more

• Coursera Free Courses

To help educators learn and grow in these difficult times, Coursera data science has come up with many free online courses on programming languages and other on-job skills. At the same time, this platform will connect you with experts to learn tips about reducing risk during COVID-19 and get certificate in Data Science.

Enrol in Coursera Free Courses During Lockdown

1. Machine Learning
2. Financial Markets
3. Brand Management: Aligning Business, Brand and Behaviour
4. Private Equity and Venture Capital
5. Food & Beverage Management, and more

• Food & Nutrition – SWAYAM Online

The online nutrition course is an eleven weeks programme offering holistic information on the importance of daily nutrition and food in our life using a social science as well as a biological perspective. You will learn about different food groups, therapeutic nutrition, food alteration detection, vital health check parameters and a lot more. You will also get a certificate if you pass the course with good assessment results.

1. 12-weeks course
2. By Dr Asna Urooj, University of Mysore

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• Introduction to Yoga – AICTE

Once you enrol for this eight-week course, you will be introduced to the world of Vedas and Upanishads, Hatha Yoga and Patanjali Yoga Sutras along with the Four Streams of Yoga. You will also get to listen to life messages by spiritual masters to make you ready for expanding the reach of Yoga across as many people as you can.

1. 8-weeks course
2. By Sridhar Melukote, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthan

• Writing for Mass Media – SWAYAM

This is a 15-weeks course, which will introduce you to the secrets of storytelling and new media production techniques. As per the changing media scenario, you will learn about the strategies of producing effective media content. You will also get to know in detail about the functioning of different digital marketing platforms, along with the cinema and television world.

1. 15-weeks course
2. By Dr. Krishna Sankar Kusuma, Jamia Millia Islamia

• AI with IIT Delhi

It’s your chance to enrol for free online course on AI (artificial intelligence) with IIT Delhi. This is one of the popular SWAYAM NPTEL courses and it introduces students to the latest concepts of AI, such as, Bayes nets, search, logic and MDPs. After doing this free online course, you can plan better and choose advanced courses in the AI sub field of your interest.

• HubSpot Academy

HubSpot Academy is a popular name among professionals who are interested in learning management and the concepts of inbound marketing, customer service, sales and other business skills. With HubSpot, you can do other exciting courses for free, such as, WordPress training course, Twitter strategy course, Blogging strategy, YouTube marketing course, and so on.

HubSpot Academy Free Courses

1. WordPress Training Course – 4 lessons, 1:11 hours completion time
2. Email Marketing Certification Course – 10 lessons, 3:18 hours completion time
3. Content Marketing Certification Course – 14 lessons, 6:12 hours completion time
4. Inbound Sales Certification Course – 5 lessons, 2:11 hours completion time

• FB Blueprint

Many professionals are interested in understanding the dynamic field of online marketing, as it’s important for all types of businesses. FB Blueprint offers many free courses for you to build your expertise with free digital marketing courses. From creating Facebook ads to advertising with Facebook Ads Manager and using your Instagram account for business, you can learn a lot now while staying at home 24×7.

Facebook Free Online Courses During Lockdown

1. How to Advertise on Instagram – 6 lessons
2. How to Create an Ad on Facebook – 8 lessons
3. The Essential Guide to Facebook Ads – 6 lessons
4. How to Create a Facebook Page to Grow Your Business – 4 lessons

• Google Skillshop

Google Skillshop provides Google digital marketing courses to help people understand the nitty-gritty of this search engine tool even better. You will get free online training for Google Ads, Google Ad Manager, Google My Business, Google Analytics, Google Marketing Platform, etc. These certifications hold much significance at the time of career upgrade.

Must-Have Google Free Certification Courses During Lockdown

1. Google Ads Search certification – 3.7 Hours Course
2. Search Ads 360 certification – 1 Hour
3. Analytics Academy – 3.5 Hours Course
4. Google Ads Manager – 5 Hours Course

• Alison Courses

It’s time to look for the silver lining and empower yourself with Alison free online courses. They have categorized their courses across different domains, such as, Humanities, Health, Business, Lifestyle, Language, and more for people of all age groups. You can opt for free certificate courses or diploma courses depending upon your interest.

Popular Alison Free Courses During Lockdown

1. Diploma in Human Resources – 8 to 10 Hours
2. Diploma in Operations Management – 5 to 6 Hours
3. Introduction to Project Management – 9 to 10 Hours
4. SCRUM Immersion – 5 to 6 Hours Course

• Stanford Online Learning

During the time of COVID-19 Pandemic, Stanford has decided to provide free online courses on Computer Science. Both students and adults can now foster their skills by learning about how to code. This course is titled as ‘Code in Peace’ and will include Python as the programming language.

Stanford Free Online Courses

1. Algorithms: Design & Analysis
2. Cryptography II
3. Graph Search, Shortest Paths & Data Structures
4. Essentials of Program Strategy & Evaluation
5. Introduction to Innovation & Entrepreneurship

• Esri Academy

You can enrol for free online GIS courses with Esri Academy. With this course, you will get the exposure to the concepts of maps and geographical data. You can further learn how to use GIS solutions to find patterns related to any problems and come to the solution. The course will also include the fundamental concepts of Python scripting.

Free Online Esri Courses

1. Python for Everyone – 3 Hours, 30 Minutes
2. Do-it Yourself GeoApps (4 weeks)
3. Free Esri Training and Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC)

• GreyAtom

GreyAtom is also providing many free online courses with certificates to optimize your resume and job profile. You can join the Career Prep Bootcamp or enroll for Data Science for Beginners. You will get to work on different projects that would help enhance your practical knowledge.

Free Online Data Science Courses During COVID-19

1. Python for Data Science
2. Fundamentals of Data Science
3. Upskill in Data Science
4. Transition to Data Science
5. Coaching by Industry Mentors

• edX Online Courses

You will get diverse edX course options to learn more about the principles of Language, Humanities, Data Science, Business & Management, Engineering, etc. edX provides different paid and free online courses in association with Harvard University, MIT, Boston University, and more.

edX Free Online Courses

1. Visualizing data with Python by IBM
2. Deep Learning Explained by Microsoft
3. Mining Massive Datasets by Stanford Online
4. Market Segmentation Analysis by UQx
5. Fundamentals of Market Structure by NYIF

• Future Learn

This is another option to enroll for free online Psychology courses and learn the basics of logical and critical thinking in just a few weeks. Future Learn free online courses will provide insights about complex mental health issues and how to deal with them.

FutureLearn Free Online Courses with Certificates

1. How to Create Great Online Content – University of Leeds
2. Digital Skills: Digital Marketing by Accenture
3. Introduction to UX and Accessible Design – Institute of Coding

Upcoming Free Online Courses in August 2024 to Improve Your Career

• LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning provides several courses spread over different domains such as business, data science, finance, etc. These free online courses with certificate have been designed by industry experts and the backing of LinkedIn means that you can easily add these courses to your resume.

Top LinkedIn Learning Courses

1. Learn cloud computing
2. Artificial intelligence foundations: Machine Learning
3. Business analyst and project manager collaboration
4. Blockchain basics

• UC Berkeley Certification Courses

UC Berkeley offers online courses with certificate for credit and non-credit learning as well as for massive open online courses (MOOC). These courses range from English literature and quantum learning to statistics.

Free UC Berkeley Courses

1. Data science
2. Micromaster in marketing analytics
3. Science of happiness
4. Ruby on Rails
5. Blockchain fundamentals

• Machine Learning Online Courses with Certificate

Machine learning has now crept into almost all things we encounter in our daily lives. It becomes important that we learn how it functions, how it will become more diverse in the coming future and its relationship with AI and deep learning.

Top Machine Learning Courses

1. Machine learning A-Z by SuperData Science team
2. Machine learning by Stanford university
3. Mathematics of machine learning by Imperial college, London
4.  Start building your AI strategy by Kellogg school of management

• Creativity Fuelling Courses

This lockdown has helped people channelize their inner artist so why should you be behind. Learn the most popular creative skills such as music theory, drawing fundamentals and much more to bring out your creative side.

Top Creative Courses in 2024

1. Psychology of Art and Creativity
2. Exploring play: Importance of play in everyday life
3. Creative thinking: techniques and tools for success
4. Design thinking and creativity for innovation

• Khan Academy Courses

This not for profit platform provides online training related to biology, math, computing, finance etc. Khan academy lets the user set the course pace as per their own need and convenience.

Best Khan Academy Online Courses

1. What it means to buy a company’s stock
2. Elon Musk- CEO of Tesla motors and SpaceX
3. What is programming?
4. US history overview
5. Gross and operating profit

Wrapping Up

We often hear people complaining about the lack of time! This lockdown comes as an opportunity for you to make the most of your stay at home and learn new skills. Or, you can also pursue your hobbies like painting, poetry writing, video animation, etc. and invest in yourself. Enroll for these free e-courses today!

Also, check some new business ideas during lockdown.