“If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” -Benjamin Franklin

Upskilling means learning new skills which are very relevant in today’s world and the coming years. As digitalization and innovative technologies are increasing day-by-day, there are several courses offered to individuals to study and grow in their careers. It’s wiser to be smarter than to work hard. Not only can smart work help in saving you valuable minutes, but you can also make more money. In the contemporary world, the upskilling of courses such as MBA, engineering, finance, etc., is essential to remain competitive in any industry. This allows emerging talent and employed adults to recognize their interests and provide them with up-skilling options to improve their careers. 

You can also use these certifications to boost your LinkedIn profile, build a new career or take a job transition. If you find something that interests you a lot, you can take a step further and specialize in it as well.

Check out these courses to start learning something new!

1. Fundamentals of Finance 

In this 4.5-hour course organized and produced by Miti Vaidya, XLRI Alum, and Ex TAS, together with the Konversations Team, be prepared for finance lessons at B-School. This course is perfect for those who want to thrive in the very first job of their finance career. Whether you are planning to start applying for finance positions, have some finance job interviews scheduled, or have newly begun your first job in finance, this program will help you work better than your colleagues. It encompasses all the basic & important topics that anyone will need to pursue a career in finance, and is worth the INR 3999. 

2. Finance for Non-Financial Professionals 

This free course by Coursera will provide you with general financial knowledge and a thorough grasp of the effect of your choices out of your field of activity. Conducted by Prof. David Standen, Instructor at the University of California, Irvine Extension, and the subject matter contains specific aspects of finance from a non-financial specialist viewpoint. Specific categories entail financial analysis; planning, forecasting, and budgeting; cash flow, and strategic financing. This course is slated to commence on March 27, Pacific Time. So if you’re a non-financial student who wants to interpret these financial dilemmas before B-School start, sign up today. 

3. Behavioral Investing 

The FREE course will allow you to learn how people and businesses decide their finances, and how choices could perhaps deviate from the conventional financial and economic model. The FREE course is offered by Prof. Vaidya Nathan, Faculty Director, PGP-Finance at ISB and ISB Alumni Endowment Research Fellow. In the curriculum, you will learn the nature and roots of these biases, using psychological, neuroscientific, and innovative economic insights into the workings of the human brain. You can analyze how behavioural financing insights add up to the predominant financing paradigm through these biases. 

4. Cloud Computing 

Building a cloud-based end-to-end project takes you far into the field of technology. These tasks will provide you with an insight into the flow and trends of how things are constructed. Getting cloud computing skills will provide you with a wide range of transferable skills. It’s appropriate to get started with cloud computing to take advantage of the curve in the coming years. 

5. Investment Analysis & Portfolio Management 

This course on Udemy educates you on how Financial Analysis is done correctly, at a discount going on presently. You will learn advanced investment analysis and portfolio management strategies that are thoroughly grounded in the academic and professional literature. You will learn about stock prices, returns, risk, evaluating and measuring your investment risk, and figuring out what a financial advisor should do to organize their portfolio, arrange investments, and so much more.

6. PGP in Digital Social Media and IoT 

The iMET Digital Social Media & IoT School is part of the Pradurbhav Foundation, devoted to learning, research, and social welfare programs for the modern generation. Since its founding, iMET has been an initiative for working specialists, self-employed professionals, entrepreneurs, start-up owners, small and medium-sized companies, and students. They offer PGP in Digital Social Media, and IoT for a duration of 1 and 2 years with 8-trimester courses, 12 months of classroom orientation, 12 months of stringent exhaustive industry orientation accompanied by campus placements. 

7. Financial Modelling 

This course is provided by Bay Street School. It is an online course designed especially for beginners. This course uses MS Excel to give the students a detailed insight into Financial Modelling. And the best part, it is free of cost. We recommend this course 100%. 

8. CFI Free Courses 

Corporate Finance institute or the CFI provides many courses pertaining to finance and investment for beginners and even working professionals. So if you want to upskill your financial knowledge, you can look up the courses that this platform provides, which include – Accounting Fundamentals, MS Excel Crash Courses, Economics for Capital Markets, etc. 

9. Financial Risk Management 

The financial services sector is gradually using information and data to help guide decision-making and to help evaluate and control threats. This program gives an introduction to Financial Risk Analytics and will help you learn how to measure credit risk, model credit risk, and optimize threats. Gain a Finance Risk Analytics program certificate of completion from Great Learning that you can show in the Certifications section of your LinkedIn profile, on printed resumes, CVs, and other records.

10. Fundamentals of Digital Marketing 

Google has recently launched a learning platform called Digital Garage which offers online courses in data and tech, digital marketing, and career development. Fundamentals of Digital Marketing is one of the best courses on this platform. It comes with authorized certifications approved by the Digital Advertising Bureau Europe and the Open University. And it is also free of cost.

From building an online presence to preparing your online marketing strategy, this program has everything you need to develop a good understanding of digital marketing. It helps to brush up your skills and get an up-to-date insight into SEO and search engine optimization. Since certification is accepted worldwide, it is taken into account by employers when recruiting for marketing jobs

11. Business Analytics 

Imarticus Learning provides a Certified Investment Banking Operations Professional (CIBOP) program, a globally accredited course tailored to offer participants an in-depth knowledge of complicated financial products, an overview of investment banking, operating risks, and regulation. CIBOP encompasses a broad variety of concepts, which include derivatives, forex, the business life cycle, the money market, and various capital market instruments.

12. VFX and 3D Animations 

Ved is a school for innovative technology. Their affiliation with adobe offers an advantage for learners to utilize adobe tools that help them develop creative skill sets and attain an upper hand. This 3-year sophisticated 3D animation and VFX academic program is the ideal path for students searching to develop top-quality 3D animation expertise with visual effects as a specialization. The program contains industry-leading CG applications, including adobe and Autodesk certifications. Students above 12th grade are eligible to register in this training program.