The world is currently facing a profound digital transformation due to rapid technological advancements, with the Covid-19 crisis fuelling this change. As a result, there is a large need for people to develop and deepen their digital skills. Luckily there is a growing number of free online courses which can help you develop a range of different skills to boost your CV. To find out what the most sought after digital skills in today’s job market are and how to get them, read this blog!
Digital marketing
Digital marketing plays an essential role in companies connecting with their audience and potential customers, and digital marketing skills are therefore of high value. Here, social media marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) are worth learning about. Social media marketing refers to the use of social media for the marketing of a company or organisation. By being able to build an effective social media strategy you can help shape the conversation around an organisation, build loyalty, and attract new customers and partners. Moreover, SEO is the practice of improving one’s website to increase visibility on popular search engines such as Google. The better visibility a company or organisation’s website has in search results, the more likely they are to receive attention and attract more customers. Knowledge of SEO and its algorithms will therefore definitely make your CV stand out.
There are several platforms offering courses in digital marketing, and if you are enrolled in the Google x Womenpreneur Program, you will learn all about it. However, for those who are not, HubSpot Academy offers free certification courses in both social media marketing and SEO!
Data analytics
Data analytics refers to the process of examining data sets in order to find trends and draw conclusions about the information they contain. As there are countless data being collected from all our digital touchpoints, knowledge of how to use these data to one’s advantage will become more and more important. There are several data analytics tools that you might already be using, such as Microsoft Excel. While Excel lets you manage your data, other tools like Google Data Studio and Tableau allow you to identify trends and obtain insights through visual analytics.
To get familiar with data analytics and learn the basics, you should check out these free courses offered by Udemy!
Digital design
Due to the digital transformation currently taking place, digital designers are in ever-growing demand. Digital designers create images and visuals that essentially end up on a screen. Websites, digital platforms and apps have one thing in common; a user interface (UI). A user interface is the surface of any website, platform or application. It is the “visual makeup” of the software and how all the parts of the software are conveyed to a user. UI designers knowing how to create effective and dynamic user experiences are therefore much sought after. However, one must not necessarily become an expert in UI, instead you could start out with developing your graphic design skills through platforms such as Canva. Indeed, many organisations use Canva for creating social media content.
Yet, there are still great opportunities for familiarizing yourself with UI design, and on CareerFoundry you can enroll in a free short course!
Coding
Before, coding used to really only be needed for working at tech companies such as software development or computer engineering firms. Today however, coding has become so integrated into society that almost all businesses deal with coding, and therefore, it is a highly valuable skill. Indeed, several roles require coding skills now, such as compliance and risk management, digital marketing and quality assurance. While it may require some time and effort, there are many possibilities for learning the basics of coding. Java and Python are two common programming languages which hence could be worth getting familiar with.
On Codecademy you can find various free online courses which will introduce you to these programming languages, and much more.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
People skilled in AI and machine learning (ML) can help companies deliver more relevant, customised and innovative products and services, which is why they are so demanded in today’s workforce. AI is the ability of a computer program or a machine to think and learn, and to do things commonly associated with human intelligence. While this is a highly technical skill which can seem daunting, you don’t have to become an expert in AI development. For example, chatbots often use AI and ML to keep improving their conversations with customers. Knowing how to input data into the system and when to step in for human reviews will make you a valuable asset to any organisation. Several fields such as human resources, sales & marketing and business development all benefit from using AI tech solutions to improve internal processes and reduce long-term costs.
To start learning about AI, check out these free courses by Elements of AI!
Want to see more learning opportunities?
There are several websites where you can find a pool of different courses, and Womenpreneur-Initiative is dedicated to offer you free access to a range of opportunities through the Womenpreneur Digital Hub!
We also encourage you to check out Edraak, which offers online courses within many fields in Arabic!
This article was written by Ellen Löfgren.
Ellen Löfgren is based in Sweden, and is currently a project manager for the MENA team at Womenpreneur-Initiative. She is a student following a bachelor’s in Development Studies at Lund University.
Interested in reading more of our blogs? Check them out on the Womenpreneur Digital Hub today!
About us: The mission of Womenpreneur-initiative
Womenpreneur is a non-for-profit organization, conducting activities in Belgium and in the MENA region. Since 2016, we have launched several initiatives and projects which aim to boost women’s economic participation and engagement in entrepreneurship and tech, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have reached and empowered more than 16 000 women since 2016.
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