While changing careers might seem like a daunting prospect, especially if it’s a midlife career change, it’s never too late to think about a professional transition. It’s also worth considering whether it is a job change vs 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 application writing crash courses, to courses with academic accreditation, we’ll look at all the best courses to change your career. 

Quick tips for changing careers

When you’re considering a career change, the first question might be ‘where do I start?’. Learning how to change careers is a skill in itself, and there’s a variety of different personal considerations to bear in mind. 

Whether you’re looking for something completely different or fulfill 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 a 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 for the career you’re looking to change to – other than potentially shadowing someone. And with lockdown changing the job market, this can be tricky. 

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. Let’s look at some of the benefits of such learning opportunities:

Online courses can fit in 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 an online course. 
Completing a course can give you a really good, clear overview of the career choice 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, as they prove you have drive, discipline, curiosity, and a desire to learn.

If you feel like that you might be lacking in some essential skills, or you need a leg up to achieving your goals, then completing a course can help. So whether you’re considering a career change into one of the jobs 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 to either help you with a career change, or at least give you some job change ideas.

General courses 

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

Writing Applications

Perhaps the most important part of a career change is the job application. This Writing Applications course will help you hone your CV, cover letter, and even your online profile, showing you how to properly highlight relevant experience and adaptable skills. 

Interviews

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 career, but that’s where our How to Succeed in an Interview course can help. You’ll learn everything you need to ace your interview, including the different types of interview and how to prepare for them.

How to Sell Yourself

This is a great course for learning how to identify your key skills and strengths, and how you can apply them to a new role. Selling yourself isn’t easy, but with our course in Becoming Career Smart, you can learn how to explore your successes, reflect on your strengths and weaknesses, and identify your skills.

Career Skills for the 2020s

With many careers moving online thanks to the events of 2020, Navigating the Online World of Work can seem like a daunting prospect. This course will help you find your purpose, identify your skills in the new normal, and uncover your motivations. You can also learn how 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 for the Workplace course will help you develop the appropriate language for the workplace. This course can help you figure out what you want from a job, how to prepare for interviews, and language for working 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 on Digital Skills in the Workplace, and learn how to communicate, collaborate, and thrive in your career transition. Discover how to set goals, develop resilience, and stay focussed 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

You may think that by implementing a career change, you will have to retrain completely. Learn how to highlight your Work Ready Skills, and get the job of your dreams. This course covers everything, from the job application through 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.

Communication and Interpersonal Skills at Work

Effective communication skills are one of the top soft skills that employers look for. Identify and explore your communications style, and learn how to apply it effectively with this Communication and Interpersonal Skills at Work course. 

Leading People and Teams

If you want to learn how to motivate your team and become an inspirational leader, our ExpertTrack on Leading People and Teams is for you. Find out all about how to inspire, nurture talent, and work towards shared goals.

Introduction to International Business Management

The Introduction to International Business Management ExpertTrack is useful for many 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, and develop leadership skills.

Problem Solving in the Digital Age

The digital world is gaining pace, so find out how you can solve problems and develop your decision-making skills with our ExpertTrack in Problem Solving in the Digital Age. You’ll learn how to use data and analyze it, as well as solve problems and make decisions. 

Ethical Management and Decision Making

Making the right choice in a business environment is a soft skill desired by many employers. Discover how to manage ethically and morally with this Ethical Management and Decision Making course.

Logical and Critical Thinking

Identifying common obstacles that might appear in the workplace and evaluating various arguments can be really important. Our Logical and Critical Thinking course also takes in logical and critical strategy understanding along with a deep exploration of arguments. 

Develop a Creative Mindset

This ExpertTrack on how to Develop a Creative Mindset 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. 

Applications of Blockchain

Blockchain is taking the world by storm, and not just in the world of cryptocurrencies. This ExpertTrack course looking at the Applications of Blockchain will teach you all about algorithms, cyberattacks, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

AI Designing 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.

Innovations in Fintech

Financial technology has changed considerably in recent years. From cryptocurrencies to payment technology, this ExpertTrack looking at the Innovations in Fintech will teach you how fintech is revolutionizing the industry, and help you understand smart investing.

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.

The Internet of Things – the Rise of Connected Devices

We all have a smartphone nowadays, and our everyday appliances and technology are more connected to each other than ever before. This is the Internet of Things, and this course will teach you all about the legal issues and security policies involved in this fast-growing world.

Building a Future with Robots

While this might sound like a sci-fi movie, it’s actually a very real prospect 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 Building a Future with Robots.

Industry-specific 

Sometimes just learning a new set of skills might not be what you’re looking for. Here’s a selection of courses we offer that are more industry-specific. Whether you’re looking for a career change into social care, or trying your hand at games development, there’s a course for you.

How to Launch and Grow your Career in the Wellness Industry with Welltodo

The wellness industry is experiencing colossal growth at the moment, and with growth comes employment opportunities. With our ExpertTrack in How to Launch and Grow your Career in the Wellness Industry with Welltodo, you’ll develop business skills, learn how to define your niche, and build your network.

Step into Construction

If you’ve been looking for a career change to the construction industry but didn’t know where to start, then this Step into Construction course will tell you all you need to know. You’ll cover the different types of jobs available and how to run a construction business.

Step into Digital Technologies

The digital and IT sector is one of the fastest-growing sectors globally, so learn all you need to know to Step into Digital Technologies. Discover the various roles available, and the essential skills required to become a digital networking expert. 

Step into Social Care

In this course designed to help you Step into Social Care, you’ll find out just what makes a great social care worker, as well as how your current skills and experiences can be used.

The Future of Human Resource Management (HRM)

Massive changes in technology are also causing considerable changes in human resources, and contemplating the possibilities of the Future of Human Resource Management has never been more important. Find out all about future-proofed HR strategies for building engaged teams.

How to Start your Career in Games Development

The video game industry is enormous and spans the globe. Find out How to Start your Career in Games Development and learn about day-to-day life in games development, your applicable skills, and how you might be able to ace your interview.

Final thoughts

If you’ve been considering making a career change but aren’t sure where to start, 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 you can use to adapt to your new role as you make your career transition. 

The courses mentioned above are some of the best to consider if you’re thinking about changing careers.  Whether you’re learning from scratch or brushing up on your existing skills, an online course is a great starting point. You can also take an ExpertTrack for a more detailed way of upskilling in an area. 

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