Upgrade Your Skills Anytime, Anyplace, With Online Learning Platforms

Featured Article by Calvin Paige, Independent Technology Author

It’s considered essential for today’s employees and job seekers to keep their skill sets current and to possess a broad range of talents if they want to be able to pick and choose the best jobs.

Finding the time to get those skills is no easy feat though, which is why more and more people turn to online platforms for the education and training that they need. Online platforms offer the greatest flexibility in terms of choice, cost and availability, and you can schedule your study time to suit yourself.

Take a MOOC

MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course. These are free to access courses provided by some of the world’s finest educators and institutions. While you won’t typically earn any usable credentials on completion of a course, you can pick up useful knowledge and skills, as well as test drive a subject to see if it’s something you want to pursue with more formal education in the future. Some MOOC’s do provide the option of paying for a course completion certificate, but these won’t have anywhere near the same weight as a degree.

You’ll find plenty of MOOC’s listed if you do a quick internet search, and you can dive into some courses right away because some of the material is pre-recorded and provided for self-paced study. Other courses are open for enrollment at certain times and you’ll be expected to complete computer graded assignments and take the opportunity to participate in class discussion forums.

Study for an Online Degree

Online degrees were once the preserve of cheats looking for a quick way to fool a prospective employer, but now top universities and colleges have taken over the space and you can use their programs to study for bachelor’s and master’s degrees in any number of subjects.

Prices are competitive when compared to an on-campus education, and as the courses are designed for part-time study, you can fit assignments around your work and family commitments.

Look for courses that enhance your current IT career prospects, like computer science or business administration courses, or, if you’re sick and tired of IT, you can get ready for a career switch by studying a completely new field.

For example you could study for an online civil engineering degree with Ohio University and complete your masters degree in civil engineering in as few as five semesters.

Learn a New Language

Being fluent in more than one language is a real bonus in today’s global marketplace, as it gives you the opportunity to work all over the world as a permanent employee or contract worker. While it’s true that many workplaces can accommodate English speaking specialists, you’ll be more effective in your role and enjoy better relationships with coworkers and clients if you can communicate well in the native language.

The internet gives you a vast choice when it comes to learning a language; you can take a casual approach with an app like Duo Lingo, take a free or paid comprehensive language course, or, if there is a country that you would particularly like to work in, you can take a formal online language degree.

Online platforms give everyone the opportunity to use their free time to improve their skills.