The best online courses for a career change

While changing careers might seem like a daunting prospect, especially if it’s a mid-life career change, it’s never too late to think about a professional transition. It’s also worth considering whether it is a job change or a career change you want to pursue. 

If you’re looking to develop new skills and train to work in a new industry, you’re in the right place. From crash courses in application writing to courses with academic accreditation, we’ll look at all the best courses to change your career. 

Thinking about switching careers but not sure what you want to do next? Check out our useful guide to finding your dream job in 2023.

Quick tips for changing careers

When considering a career change, you may be unsure where to start. Learning how to change careers is a skill in itself, and there are various different personal considerations to bear in mind. 

Whether you’re looking for something completely different or to fulfil long-standing ambitions, a career change can give you a new lease of life. Changing into a new role can make you happier at work, and evidence shows that happier employees are generally more productive. 

While you might be worried about how to get a job in the new normal, understanding your skills and their different applications will really help. On top of this, understanding the skills that employers of the future will be looking for is a great way to start your career change. 

How can an online course help me change my career?

So what can completing a course do for your career? There’s no better way to get a taste of the career you’re looking to change to – other than potentially shadowing someone. And with lockdown changing the job market, this can be tricky in certain industries. 

That’s where online courses can come into their own, and they’re more important now than ever before. Even Bill Gates has spoken about the importance of online courses. 

Benefits of digital learning opportunities:

• Online courses can fit around your current schedule. If you’re considering a career change while still working, you can begin to make your career transition straight away.
• Employers often look for hard and soft skills, both of which you can learn by taking part in online courses. 
• Completing a course can give you a really good, clear overview of the career choices you might have. 
• You can learn how to boost and adapt the skills you have learned in previous roles, as well as learn new ones. 
• Nearly half of all hiring managers perceived online learning to be very important during the interview process. By doing an online course you could end up standing out in interviews – they prove you have the drive, discipline, curiosity, and desire to learn.

If you feel like you might lack some essential skills, or that you need a leg up to achieve your goals, completing a course might help. So, whether you’re considering a career change into a job of the future, or you want to finally dive into your dream career, take a look at our rundown of the best courses for a career change.

The best courses for a career change 

Let’s jump straight into the best courses you can start today, either to help you with a career change or give you some ideas about upskilling and professional development opportunities.

General courses 

These general courses will put you in good stead for a career change. They’ll help with everything career-related, from job applications and interviews to honing your linguistic and work-ready skills.

Writing Applications

Applying for jobs is one of the most fundamental parts of a career change. This course by the University of Sheffield will help you hone your CV, cover letter, and even your online profile, showing you how to properly highlight relevant experience and adaptable skills. 

How to Succeed in an Interview 

If you’re successful with your job application, you’ll get called up for an interview. It’s always a daunting prospect, especially if you’re changing careers, but that’s where our interview tips course can help. You’ll learn everything you need to ace your interview, including the different types of interviews and how to prepare for them.

University and Your Future: Career Planning and Making the Most of Your Degree

Learn how to identify your key skills and strengths and discover how university can unlock your career options. Perfect if you’re considering going back to university or completing further study, this course by the University of Surrey will help you to feel empowered surrounding your degree and career decisions.

Career Skills for the 2020s: Navigating the Online World of Work

With many careers taking a more hybrid approach, thanks to the events of 2020, navigating the online world of work can seem like a daunting prospect. This course by the University of Coventry will help you find your purpose, identify your skills in the new normal, and uncover your motivations. You’ll also learn how to improve your communication skills and develop your personal objectives.

English for the Workplace

Ideally suited for English learners, but also useful for people who might want to brush up on their linguistic skills, our English course by the British Council will help you to develop appropriate language for the workplace. You’ll learn how to figure out what you want from a job, how to prepare for interviews, and how the right language can help you work collaboratively.

Digital Skills to Thrive in the Workplace

With a rapidly-changing workplace, keeping up to date with different career changes and options can be tricky. Prepare for the future with our ExpertTrack by the University of Leeds, and learn how to communicate, collaborate, and thrive in your career transition. Discover how to set goals, develop resilience, and stay focused when working remotely.

Building your Career in Tomorrow’s Workplace

Now more than ever, understanding the workplace of the future can make or break your career change. Learn how to plan and prepare for the future of work, and identify opportunities created by these challenges, in the Building your Career in Tomorrow’s Workplace course. 

Work Ready Skills: Job Searches, Writing a CV and Interviewing

You may think that by implementing a career change, you will have to retrain completely. Learn how to highlight your work-ready skills with Central Queensland University and get the job of your dreams. This course covers everything, from applying for jobs to transitioning into a new role. 

Soft skills 

Employers will often look for proven soft skills when interviewing. The soft skill courses listed here can help to make you stand out from the crowd. To find out more about soft skills and how to develop them, read our expert guide.

Communication and Interpersonal Skills at Work

Effective communication skills are one of the top soft skills that employers look for. Improve your communication skills at work and learn how to navigate positive collaboration in the modern workplace with this popular course by the University of Leeds and the Institute of Coding.

Leadership Training: Human Leadership

If you want to learn how to motivate your team and become an authentic and inclusive leader, our leadership course by Bailey and French will help you out. With positive psychology and relationship management training, get empowered to become a leader who focuses on developing people’s strengths.

Introduction to International Business Management

This ExpertTrack by the University of Kent could be useful for a myriad of different reasons. If you’re looking to improve your entrepreneurial skills or learn about business planning, it’s the ideal choice. You can also learn about marketing segmentation and strategies, leadership styles and techniques, and how to launch a business.

Problem Solving in the Digital Age

The digital world is gaining pace, so find out how you can solve problems and improve your business decisions with our ExpertTrack by the University of Leeds. You’ll build decision-making skills using design thinking, data, and planning to help you solve problems in the workplace and beyond.

Ethical Management and Decision Making

Having the ability to make the right choice in a business environment is desired by many employers. Discover how to manage people and projects ethically and morally with this essential course by the University of Law.

How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking is a fundamental soft skill that employers look for across all industries. So, if you want to move from reactive thinking to strategic decision-making, this course by BoxPlay will help you do just that.

Developing a Creative Mindset

This ExpertTrack by D&AD will help you to increase your creative empathy and inspire your creativity to ensure you overcome any sort of challenge. Covering resilience, collaboration, and customer insight, you’ll learn how to tackle any kind of creative challenge in this course. 

Emerging technologies 

It can be tricky to keep up to date with all the latest technologies coming into the workplace. By taking one of these courses related to emerging technologies, you can put yourself at the front of the pack, helping you push your career into exciting new directions. 

Harnessing Emerging Disruptive Technologies

The world is changing, but do you want to keep up? In this future-focused course by The Mind Lab, you’ll examine the disruptive and emerging technologies accelerating digital development. With your newfound knowledge, you’ll be able to anticipate changes that you can take advantage of across different industries.

AI Design and Engineering with Microsoft Azure

Artificial Intelligence is one of the key drivers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. AI also came fourth in LinkedIn’s top 10 hard skills that companies needed most in 2020. By enrolling in AI Designing and Engineering with Microsoft Azure, you’ll take your first steps into AI and develop your Python AI programming skills, along with gaining a professional certification.

Data Science on Microsoft Azure using Python Programming

As a powerful language used in everything from data analysis to AI, Python has quickly become an essential tool for machine learning and data science. This ExpertTrack that looks at Data Science on Microsoft Azure using Python Programming will help you understand all of Microsoft Azure’s intricacies.

Digital Skills: Embracing Digital Technology

On this course by King’s College London, you’ll discover the digital technologies you can use to make your life, work and studies easier. From email and messaging to social media, you’ll discover digital tools for communicating and searching and explore the creative possibilities offered by digital technology.

Building a Future with Robots

While it might sound like a sci-fi movie, this course is actually very relevant in this day and age. Robots could end up changing every aspect of our future – find out how you can harness and understand this power in our course by the University of Sheffield.

Industry-specific 

If you already know which direction you want to take your career, you might be looking for some more specific advice and knowledge. That’s where our industry-specific courses come in. Designed to help you at the beginning of your new career, these courses will provide a great introduction.

Prepare for a Software Development Career

You may have heard, software developers are very much in-demand. If you’re interested in computer programming, web development, creating video games, or anything along those lines, this is the perfect introductory course for you. Keep in mind, you will need previous knowledge of Python and Java for this course.

The Freelance Bible: How to Be a Freelancer in Any Industry

If you’re hoping to step away from a more traditional career path and try your hand at freelancing, this course is for you. With expert tips and advice from the bestselling book by Alison Grade, you’ll learn how to find your identity, learn new skills, and deliver outstanding work.

Introduction to Careers in Fashion Design

Want to finally make your dream of working in the fashion industry a reality? This course by Bloomsbury Academic will help you explore your potential career options and start building an impressive fashion portfolio.

Start Your Career as a Healthcare Professional: Online Work Related Learning

If you want to work for the NHS, look no further. In this course by the University of Leicester, you’ll be introduced to the roles and responsibilities of different healthcare professionals and discover the skills and attributes needed to help you thrive in a healthcare setting.

The Future of Human Resource Management 

Massive changes in technology are also causing considerable changes in human resources, and contemplating the possibilities of the future of HR management has never been more important. Find out all about future-proofed HR strategies for building engaged teams in this course by the University of Twente.

How to Open a Restaurant 

Always hoped you’d open your own restaurant one day? Now you’ve decided to change careers, it’s time to take action. On this course by the Swiss Education Group, you’ll get expert training in everything you need to know to become a top restaurateur, from marketing to menu design.

Final thoughts

If you’ve been considering making a career change but feel stuck or unsure, don’t worry. With the average person set to change their career between five and seven times during their lifetime, you’ll quickly find that you already have an extensive range of applicable skills. Many of these skills will help you adapt to your new role during this career transition. 

Whether you’re learning from scratch or brushing up on your existing skills, an online course is a great starting point if you’re thinking about making a big career change. To get unlimited access to all of our career-focused courses and more, you might want to consider signing up for our Unlimited learning subscription.