What better way would you spend your free time than learning a new skill by taking free online courses?
With the different industries getting more competitive each day, it is important to continuously improve our skillset and go beyond what we know to keep up with our ever-changing industry trends. Apart from keeping up with global standards, contributing one’s skills, knowledge, and experience is also beneficial to the improvement of our respective industries.
Upskilling by taking individual courses is one of the ways we can refine our skills and knowledge in a specific area. Ultimately, by developing new skills and knowledge, we are advancing ourselves to learn beyond what we have mastered in our everyday lives and upgrade our individual expertise.
Earlier this February, Harvard University offered 142 online courses that are free to take. The courses that the renowned university offers range from programming to business to humanities, and the list goes on. The complete list of courses they are offering is available to view on their official website.
Speaking of free online courses, there are other universities and internet platforms that also offer the same learning quality that Harvard University offers. If you want more learning opportunities that are readily available online and have no charge, this is where to get free online courses to upgrade your skills in 2024:
1. UP Open University – Massive Open Distance eLearning (MODeL)
The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) has been offering free courses that are easily accessible to everyone since years ago. The courses that the virtual campus is offering in 2024 consist of but are not limited to graphic design, video production, social entrepreneurship, and scriptwriting courses.
As seen on the official website of UP Open University, the online courses are flexible to take, but schedules for registration per course are provided. What makes the courses offered at UPOU special is that they do not focus solely on providing courses that target hard skills, but they also shed light on courses that target the social sciences and technical-vocational industries.
2. TESDA Online Program (TOP)
The Technical Educational and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is also a well-known government agency that champions providing technical education and skills development opportunities. This year, they also offered a wide range of technical, vocational, and business courses that are also free.
If you are interested in learning skills like agriculture, entrepreneurship, health care, and financial literacy, make sure to create an account on their official website to take the offered online courses.
3. LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn is the social media platform and resource for professionals to network, find jobs, and create their professional profiles online. LinkedIn Learning is a subpage of LinkedIn where online courses are also available. With this virtual course platform, the training and courses available here are diverse, and they provide courses that are centered more on the digital landscape fields than the technical fields.
Although a subscription is needed, there are selected free courses that you can still take on LinkedIn Learning. Just make sure to create your LinkedIn account and scroll through LinkedIn Learning for free courses to take.
Acquiring new knowledge and skill sets can be a fulfilling thing to accomplish. These online and accessible courses can be the key to the progression of our professional and personal development. Taking advantage of free educational resources can enrich us individually and, ultimately, the industry to which we will soon contribute our experience.
