Lockdown has provided many of us the opportunity to try something new, from sewing home-made masks, baking your 100th loaf of sourdough bread or finally attempting to make a coffee table out of those pallets that have been in the garden for months.
Some have taken this time to learn new skills for their professional lives, some have been undertaking training within their current roles to progress while others have taken this time to learn something new and take the plunge with a career change. Ensuring any training you do comes with CPD certification means these courses are independently accredited and have quality content.
But now all of us learn in the same way, textbooks, lectures and exams certainly don’t suit every mind, so how can we learn something new but in a more creative and unusual way?
E-learning is soaring in popularity during lockdown and the public are uncovering some of the most unique courses available that can be turned into a new business venture or improve their current profession.
1. Selfie Masterclass
Don’t be put off by the title of this course, it isn’t just for social media-obsessed teenagers, although they certainly do love it.
This course is a beginners’ masterclass in photography using a smartphone camera. While this may seem trivial at first glance, think about how important quality photographs are, especially for social media business pages.
Your business may have used professional photography in the past to promote products and services but current guidelines mean this isn’t always possible. It is also incredibly costly, so why not try to reduce expenditure and do this yourself.
It also teaches how to dress for the perfect selfie and what surrounding you should be in. This can be utilised for video calling, the main form of communication with colleagues and clients nowadays.
2. American Slang
You are forgiven for thinking that the older generations are using this to try and be ‘down with the kids’ and while many may be doing so, it is actually a course that can be essential for non-native speakers.
If English is not your first language, learning from textbooks and school lessons can teach you a great deal, but how many of us actually speak like this?
If you are doing business overseas and struggle to understand clients, especially if you are video calling which tends to use less formal language than emails, this is the course for you.
It focusses on spoken slang, what the meanings are if they can be applied in the workplace and how to be used within sentences.
3. Dance Floor Confidence
How many of us shudder at the thought of the dance floor. Confidence is a big element of this anxiety and this course teaches you to bust moves with flair.
While you won’t be the next Darcy Bussel after this course, in fact, you may still be just as bad as before, it teaches you to own your dance moves with courage.
But how does this help us in our professional lives? Lack of confidence holds us back significantly at work and can be the main cause for many employees not progressing as quickly as they deserve.
Being taught confidence in one element of our lives can shape our attitude positively while having some fun.
4. Communicating With Animal & Nature
Lockdown has provided an opportunity for us to reassess our careers and realise what is really important.
Animal and nature lovers are certainly one of the largest groups who have realised they want to ditch the suit and shirt and work with what they love.
Unfortunately, this means there is a lot of competition for advertised roles.
This course teaches the basics in pet behaviour and helps you get in touch with nature, a good way to stand out from the thousands of other CVs that will be trying to get a role.
5. How To Be A Tour Guide Overnight
Lots of us are passionate about our hometowns and now we are able to be outdoors within small groups of people, why not make some cash speaking about your passion?
This course provides all the guidelines you need to present an interesting and informative walking tour of your town or city.
Seeing as it’s unlikely any of us will be going abroad this summer, there will be thousands of Brits having a staycation. Take advantage of this and get paid to show off your knowledge.
6. Build A Lightsaber
Basic electronic and crafting skills are learnt during this course, with the finished product being Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber from Star Wars Episode IV.
It is unlikely to provide the skills needed to become a certified electrician, if you nail this project, you could adapt this to your own small business.
Star Wars fans go made for memorabilia, especially hand-made, one of a kind items. Adapting your newly learnt skills to unique pieces and other movie prop replicas and selling these online can earn a fortune.
Some top-quality hand-made lightsabers can sell for up to £5000, so it is definitely worth the investment.
Now is the perfect time to undertake a CPD accredited course. As they can be completed at your own pace, you can easily fit this around working from home or childcare. If you’ve realised during lockdown that it’s time to learn something new and useless, take this as the sign to give it a go.
