Whether you have just been made redundant or are going through a redundancy consultation, whether you have had to pick up extra duties and responsibilities at work due to a shortage of staff, or whether you simply want to keep your job secure – it may be time to upskill or re-skill.
Upskilling is learning additional skills to perform better in your current role or a similar job, whereas reskilling is developing a new skill to perform a different job with the same or different organisation. The importance of upskilling and reskilling during the pandemic has been made apparent in many articles from both an organisation’s perspective and individual’s perspective.
Here are some of the benefits you may find of upskilling or reskilling during the pandemic:
- Increases your chances of getting hired as it can set you apart from the competition
- Showcases your passion for a particular skill to potential employers
- Shows you are capable of working on your own initiative to improve your performance
- Demonstrates your commitment towards the role you are working in
- Helps you develop a greater understanding of the career you choose
- Helps you step into a new career
- Helps you gain additional skills that will help you during this time of uncertainty
However, investing in upskilling or reskilling may not be the first thing on your mind during the pandemic, especially if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being made redundant.
To give you an opportunity of learning new skills, no matter what your situation is, we have put together a list of sites where you can access courses to upskill or reskill for free:
- Reed Courses: Currently have 173 free courses on their site and a 10% off promotional offer.
- OpenLearn: Free learning from The Open University with courses in many different subject areas.
- LinkedIn Learning: Currently offering a one month free trial with 13,000 courses to choose from.
- Udemy: Search for ‘free’ in their search bar to unveil 1000s of free courses
- Alison: 1377 free courses across distinct categories of learning.
- Google Digital Garage: Most of the courses from Google Digital Garage are completely free and the best part is you can choose to study particular modules or take the entire course.
- Microsoft Learn: All Microsoft courses are free and give you an industry recognised Microsoft accreditation.
No matter where in your career you may be or what your professional situation currently is, we would advise you to take this opportunity to upskill or reskill as an investment in your future.
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