Boost your skillset in banking and finance with these hot online courses

Looking to land a hot job in the exciting and dynamic world of financial services? If you want to stand out from the rest in banking and/or finance – maybe even become a quant – you should look into upskilling with online courses.

The banking and finance industry have both gone through major strides in technology, and those with a Bachelor’s or even Master’s in Finance who graduated years ago may find themselves lacking in certain cutting-edge areas.

You may already have certain skills down pat, but with the advancement of technologies such as Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and big data, there’s surely something new you can learn and bring to the table that will make you a valuable employee and climb the career ladder.

According to Yates, the skills most valued in a quant are more related to mathematics and computation rather than finance, because these are the more challenging areas of financial services compared to understanding them conceptually.

Here are some areas where you can upskill in financial services with online courses either going free or offered at affordable rates.

For most online courses, you can also enrol for free with a seven-day trial, so you know what to expect without committing to the full fee.

Here are some hot online courses for professionals in banking and finance that will help you develop skills to become a top player in financial services.

Analysing data for financial purposes

Aspiring quants take niche finance courses offered under Coursera’s Finance & Quantitative Modeling for Analysts Specialisation offered by Wharton, which will give you insights on how to analyse past and future data.

Under this specialisation, there are a number of other courses where you can gain deeper technical knowledge in finance fundamentals, including Financial Acumen for Non-Financial Managers.

Brushing up on accounting skills

While finance professionals don’t necessarily need to be expert accountants, they should have the necessary knowledge needed as accounting and finance often go hand-in-hand, and you’ll often work closely with accountants.

If you need a refresher in accounting,  you can take online courses on EdX such as Financial Accounting and Finance Essentials, or Accounting and Financial Management.

Leadership and analytical thinking

If you’re working towards leadership roles in finance, you must develop skills such as analytical thinking and problem-solving to make strategic decisions.

Get a head start on your journey towards becoming an inspiring leader or manager by learning how to tackle complex problems with professional certifications like Babson’s Professional Certificate in Financial Decision-making for Leaders that you can take online on EdX.

You can also check out CGMA’s Finance Leadership programme, which helps those in their mid-career upskill with digital and finance skills to succeed in finance teams and corporations.