4 most popular online courses for upskilling in business

Looking to upskill yourself in business while in lockdown? You’re not alone. As people are either unemployed, furloughed, or working remotely during the pandemic, online courses have seen a surge in enrolments these past few months.

Many are also concerned about the state of the economy when lockdowns are eased, and how to keep their businesses afloat – or how to switch to a new career or start a new business altogether. 

Coursera recently revealed 23 most popular courses that people have been taking on their platform – which includes classes like the ever-popular ‘The Science of Wellbeing’ online course and a number of others in differing fields. 

From this list, a number of online courses that have seen an uptick in popularity are in the business vein – showing that many are looking to upskill or reskill themselves in this area.

There are also specialisations and professional certificate programmes on the list which are a series of related courses offered in a bundle. For some of these online programmes, you can take selected courses instead of the whole course if you wish. 

Here are four of the most popular online courses and specialisations in business for you to check out to get started on your upskilling journey.

Back to Basics

Need to master the basics of business? 

Coursera’s Business Foundations Specialisation is one of the most popular, covering six related courses to improve business literacy so you can either switch careers, start your own business or optimise one, or even apply for further studies at business school.

For another option, you can also check out the Business Foundations online course by the University of British Columbia via EdX – offered as part of the Business Fundamentals MicroMasters programme. 

Achieve professional success

Another popular specialisation is the Achieving Personal and Professional Success Specialisation course, based on four of the most popular courses at Wharton Business School – Success, Leading the Life you Want, Influence, and Improving Communication Skills.

Being a leader in business means you also need to develop the ideal skills to influence others and communicate effectively. This course will help you do just that.

For another course in a similar vein, check out Open Learning’s Effective Communication for Successful Leadership online course. 

Become a master of marketing

There’s a reason why the marketing division often has the biggest budget in a company, so don’t underestimate its importance for any successful business. 

Digital marketing is even more important to upskill yourself in as it’s the way forward, and also an efficient way to get a new business up and running.

One of the most popular specialisations on Coursera is the Digital Marketing Specialisation which covers marketing analytics, social media marketing, search engine optimisation, and 3d printing for digital creation. 

You can also check out the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing online course which includes a certification by Google Digital Garage. 

Excel with project management skills 

If you’ve got time on your hands, it’s a good time to brush up on certain skills like Microsoft Excel which can help you become more organised and manage projects more efficiently. 

You might have learned the basics of Microsoft Excel in university, but you can always upskill yourself by learning the more advanced functions. 

One of the most popular courses on Coursera is the Excel Skills for Business Specialization which gives you the chance to develop these advanced skills for business purposes. 

If you plan to use Google Sheets instead, you should also check out the Getting Started with Google Sheets course ensure you’re making the most of it so your business can run its operations more smoothly.