Discover the best and most affordable online courses for 2024
Start the new year by expanding your skill sets with a cut-price course online.
With plenty of providers to choose from, there are courses out there covering everything from office administration to creating a YouTube channel or running a successful side hustle, all available for less in January. Skillshare, for example, is offering a whole month of learning for free, while other providers including BBC Maestro and Future Learn have up to 40% off subscriptions for new learners to enjoy.
Whether you would like Gary Barlow to show you how to write a song for £47.50 or you want to learn how to code a website for less than £60, there are thousands of opportunities out there to enhance your career and explore your interests online.
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With a new year comes fresh resolutions and online learning offers a practical way to upgrade your knowledge and enhance your levels of life satisfaction.
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An affordable online course lets you:
- Learn from the comfort of your own home - with no classrooms or lecture theatres to worry about, you can connect to your course online from anywhere. Remote working also helps to keep the cost of courses down for students.
- Learn at your own pace - different course structures may vary but most allow learners to access programs in their own time and complete the course as quickly or as slowly as they need to. Studying can be time-consuming, so being able to work it around your schedule is an important part of being able to succeed.
- Study while you work - online courses can be completed outside of working hours, making it much easier to balance professional commitments with learning.
- Grow your skills - learning online allows you to improve your existing skills, learn new ones or even try something that you never have before.
- Increase your career prospects - firm up your knowledge with a certified accreditation that can be used in the workplace.
- Get expert tuition for less - bite-size courses from some of the most experienced and recognised names in their field, is a great way to learn from the very best without having to pay hefty tuition fees.
- Make new connections online - online forums, study groups, zoom meetings and break-out room exercises are all great ways to meet like-minded folks online to create a new peer network.
Whatever your interest there will be a course to help you excel at it. While many students sign up online to further their career prospects, there are just as many who simply want to learn more about something they love.
Skillshare
Skillshare is an online learning community that helps students reach their creative goals with thousands of online classes.
Grow your YouTube channel with a Skillshare course (Getty)Curated for "creative and curious people" class topics include illustration, design, photography, video, freelancing and more with instruction being given by people at the top of their respective fields. Whether you want to learn a new skill, brush up on your artwork or build the confidence to succeed, there are myriad learning paths to choose from with Skillshare.
Skillshare offers a free one-month trial. After this, members will be charged £79 annually or £6.58 a month for a 1-year membership, or £14 a month for a monthly rolling contract.
With members looking to turn their paychecks into passions for 2024, some of the most popular classes from Skillshare this month include:
- YouTube for Beginners - How to Start & Grow Your YouTube Channel
- Productivity Masterclass - Principles and Tools to Boost Your Productivity
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Udemy
Udemy provides an easily accessible online learning and teaching platform that gives students the technology skills they need to achieve their goals and stay competitive in a digital world.
Upgrade your tech skills with Udemy (Udemy)With over 210,000 courses on offer, and more than 67 million learners, Udemy is one of the biggest online learning platforms in the world. Students can subscribe to a personal learning plan or can pay for each course individually, with prices starting from as little as £19.99.
For learners who aren't ready to commit, Udemy also offers a selection of free courses to whet your whistle.
- The Complete 2024 Web Development Bootcamp
- 100 Days of Code: The Complete Python Pro Bootcamp
- The Complete Python Bootcamp From Zero to Hero in Python
- Build a Video Studio for YouTube + Video Content Creation
- Social Media For Business Strategy
- The Blender 4 Ultimate Guide
- How to Budget and Forecast for Your Business
BBC Maestro
BBC Maestro is a subscription-based streaming platform, created to educate and inspire people to explore their creativity.
Mark Ronson could teach you how to make a hit record for just £47.40 (BBC Meastro)Offering a selection of pre-recorded lessons and detailed course notes, anyone can learn a wide range of disciplines and follow in the footsteps of experts respected all over the world. Classes can be paid for individually or students can sign up for an annual subscription
You can also buy a gift card to help your nearest and dearest hone their creative skills online. With many courses presented by well-known experts, writers and artists, there are some unusual but inspiring courses and lessons available on the BBC Meastro website.
With courses and subscriptions reduced by up to 40% off with the code JANUARY2024, some of the best-selling offerings from the Beeb include:
- Writing Thrillers with Harlan Coben
- Acting with Brian Cox
- Writing Love Stories with Jojo Moyes
- Music Production with Mark Ronson
- Writing Children's Picture Books with Julia Donaldson
- Songwriting with Gary Barlow
- Delicious Food Cooked Simply with Marco Pierre White
Reed Courses
Designed to help students excel in their chosen career or work towards starting a new one, the online recruitment service Reed offers over 99,500 courses in 1,071 subjects, with training provided by a selection of services.
Become a social media expert with an online Reed course (Getty)Students can choose to take part in one of many free courses or they can enrol on an online course. Specifically curated to help students excel in the workplace, Reed offers over 25,000 courses that come with finance available as well as courses where funding may be granted including Nursing degrees and courses with guaranteed job placements.
With so many to choose from, Reed is a highly popular learning resource with paid-for courses starting from as little as £12.
Future Learn
Offering thousands of free courses, Future Learn has plenty to offer from top universities and specialist organisations.
Learn to create your own VR experience with Future Learn (Getty)The online learning resource provides all the tools students need to upskill with a series of specialist courses. They can earn professional or academic accreditation or even study online to build a degree.
This month, Future Learn is offering 30% off one whole year of unlimited learning, allowing new learners to subscribe for just £174.99 instead of £249.99, £14.58 per month.
Featured courses include:
- Harnessing AI in Marketing and Communication
- How to succeed at interviews
- Introduction to Cyber Security
- Psychology and Mental Health: Beyond Nature and Nurture
- Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Modern Workplace
- A Beginner’s Guide to Creating a VR Experience
- Copywriting Fundamentals
New Skills Academy
With lots of courses available to help you land your dream job, the New Skills Academy offers over 900 career-enhancing, confidence-boosting courses.
Train to be a teaching assistant with New Skills Academy (Getty)Covering all areas from admin and secretarial to social care and hobbies, students can receive one free course when they sign up to receive the New Skills Academy newsletter.
Learners can study a wide range of courses at reduced fees, with annual subscriptions currently reduced to a one-off payment of just £75.
Courses include:
- The Complete Microsoft Excel Course
- Make-Up Artist Diploma
- Level 2 Teaching Assistant Diploma
- Child Psychology Diploma Course
- Events Management Diploma
- Combined HR and Payroll Diploma Course
- Social Media Marketing Certificate
Coursera
Offering unlimited access to more than 7,000 world-class courses, hands-on projects and job-ready certificate programs, Coursera helps students who want to focus on career progression.
Learn more about the science of well-being with Coursera (Getty)The website gives potential users a seven-day free trial, then access to all courses for between £38 and £62 per month or £315 a year.
Students can also gain a Master's degree with learning provided by over 275 leading universities and companies via the Coursera Plus app and there are a range of free courses available from the Coursera Project Network.
Some of their most popular courses include:
- Create a Website Using Wordpress : Free Hosting & Sub-domain
- Introduction to Microsoft Excel
- The Science of Well-Being
- Introduction to Psychology
- Social Media Management
- Small Business Marketing Using YouTube
- Launch Your Online Business
Other great online learning providers to consider, include:
EDX - the online learning resource offers over 4000 career-relevant training courses. With tuition available from over 250 leading institutions including the University of Harvard and the University of Cambridge, students can take part in boot camp and executive education courses, or work towards their Bachelor's or Master's degree.
Most EDX courses are instructor-paced, meaning that students must work to a course schedule. Prices vary depending on the provider, but registration is free.
Students could even complete a bachelor's degree online (Getty)Udacity - For students and professionals looking to advance their careers within the tech industry, Udacity offers an entire library of in-demand skills training.
Subscription prices vary depending on individual circumstances, and courses range from Data Analysis to Robotics Software and plenty more in between.
Centre of Excellence - Whether you want to learn a new language, train to become a qualified masseur or work with children with Autism, the Centre of Excellence has a wide range of accredited courses.
Prices vary depending on the individual course, but there are also free courses for students who register online.
Code Academy - An excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn how to code, the Code Academy has free and paid-for subscription courses that cover a wide range of technical skills.
Subscription plans cost either £11.99 or £15.99 a month and students can learn AI, Python, HTML, CSS and much more.
For learners who would rather teach themselves, platforms such as Adobe offer a huge range of practical tutorials online that help even novices navigate the system to create some incredible work. If you want to become a whizz at Photoshop, Illustrator or Acrobat Pro, Adobe Tutorials are fully comprehensive and easy to use.
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