Stay Relevant – How You Can Build In Demand Digital Skills For Free

Cherralle

6 years ago

To build digital skills we need to dip in and out of learning our whole careers

The world is digital. Therefore, we are living in a world of endless opportunities.

Not only are our current jobs changing, but a host of new jobs are being created as a result of the digital revolution. For example, a Social Media Community Manager role was a new role when I started working in Corporate in 2008, now every brand worth their salt needs a Community Manager.

Digital has a place in every single career in this world. Have you heard about the robot lawyers?

[bctt tweet=”Education is not a once off event. Due to the evolution of digital, we all need to dip in and out of learning our whole careers.” username=”cherralle_”]

Witnessing the digitization of our workplaces should not scare us.

I choose to see it as an opportunity for growth in our careers and businesses.

Learning digital skills has become incredibly accessible, with a range of free online courses available.

Remember, people and companies with the highest digital literacy will remain the most relevant.

What this means in your role, business and industry will continue to evolve.

What exactly is digital literacy?

As defined by LearningLiftOff.Com, “Digital Literacy is more than simply knowing how to use digital tools. It is the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate, and analyze information using digital technology. It’s also about knowing what to share and who to share it with“.

What approach can you adapt to stay relevant in your career?

Read

Expand your horizon by reading. Follow blogs to learn about the latest developments in your industry.

Experiment

Try a digital project.

Think of something in your current role that you can drive or participate in that has a digital element. An example could be automation or could be building a corporate social media platform.

Disrupt yourself

I love this phrase, it is corny but resonates with me. Also, you disrupt yourself when you are learning something new and applying it. Be open-minded and embrace new ways of doing things.

[bctt tweet=”Disrupt yourself by learning something new and applying it.” username=”cherralle_”]

Self – Educate

In today’s age of information, there is no reason not to develop yourself. It is free!

Get uncomfortable

Here is how to build digital skills. And it is free! I have personally tried out most these platforms, and there are many more.

[bctt tweet=”Learn digital to expand your knowledge. There are many free ways to do this” username=”cherralle_”]

These free online courses listed here may serve three needs:

Small business owners who want to get an understanding of how to build their online presence
If you as an individual want to understand digital and add a skill set to your repertoire
Students who have not yet decided what they want to study, and want to do something that is less of a commitment

Stay Relevant: How To Build In Demand Digital Skills For Free

Digital Skills for Africa with Google

Digital Skills for Africa is a one-stop shop to master digital marketing, offered by Google.

Furthermore, once you access the Digital Skills for Africa website, you have access to a full topic library.

Capture your goals on the tool and it then recommends relevant topics. It is simply cool. If you are a small business owner you can utilize this tool to understand how to build your online presence.

The learning library contains the following topics:

Building a presence online
Connecting through email
Get found through search campaigns
How to Use Analytics
Unpacking Social Media
Online Advertisements
Building an online shop

These topics are not set out to make you an expert on a topic. However, it creates a foundation for learning and experimentation.

Hubspot Marketing Certification Courses

The Hubspot Inbound certification course provides an overview of how to attract customers to your website through engaging content and interactions. Therefore, it is another useful course for small business owners, or students who want to gain an understanding of how to operate a business online. Many other courses are available depending on your need.

The Certification course covers:

Optimizing your website for search engines
Content Marketing
Inbound Marketing (Blogging, Website optimization, etc.)
Email Marketing and more!

This is a great way to understanding how you can leverage digital in any role you have. In the event that you play a business support role or you are client facing you can benefit from these courses. Pick one and give yourself 30 minutes. Only 30 minutes to learn something new.

Coursera

For a more general learning platform, Coursera offers a range of courses taught by top instructors from the world’s best universities and educational institutions. Courses include recorded video lectures, auto-graded and peer-reviewed assignments, and community discussion forums.

The free part is mostly the videos and to get the graded work you need to pay.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning is focused on team learning and offers companies and teams an opportunity to customize a learning package that is relevant to the group. The programme provides a one month free trial period.

Discover the in-demand business, tech and creative skills with personalized recommendations and courses taught by industry experts. Build your skill set by watching bite-sized video courses anytime, anywhere.

Let’s connect!

You can find me at the following links: Instagram; Twitter; Our Facebook Page; Pinterest.