The impact of the global pandemic has prompted 22% of UK workers to realise their current career isn’t for them. With so many people looking for a career change, professional courses have risen in popularity.
Professional courses for career changers build the technical skills and know-how to break into a new career path. As a career changer, you have developed a wealth of transferable skills throughout your professional life. As such, you are already equipped with many of the valuable competencies needed to embark on a new career. Having said that, you may need to build technical skills to add to your career change CV.
We’ve compiled a list of 5 career change courses to help you transition into a new career at any stage of life.
The 5 Best Professional Courses For Changing Careers
Choosing a new career can be daunting for a number of reasons. On top of starting from scratch in a new sector, you may need to retrain or refresh your skills to enter the job market. However, despite there being some hurdles to overcome, making the switch can be worth it. We spend such a large percentage of our lives at work, so feeling fulfilled and content is essential for our mental health.
If you know it’s time to move on, but need some support in finding your new path, a professional course could be the best next step. It’s particularly beneficial if you are looking to make a career change with no experience. To guide you, we’ve broken down 5 excellent professional courses UK that will set you up for the new career of your dreams.
1. Professional Project Management Course
Project managers are in high demand in the UK. As a project manager, you organise and execute projects, managing the schedule, budget, and communication. If you have the organisational skills, communication chops, and management abilities needed to excel in project management, there are plenty of job opportunities. What’s more, since project managers work across almost every industry, you can leverage your previous professional experience to get ahead. For instance, project managers can lead everything from a digital transformation project to a marketing campaign to a construction job.
The best professional course to break into project management is the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. It sets you up for a career in project management, teaching you the skills, techniques, and tricks to succeed. Once you are PMP certified, you can start your career as a project leader immediately.
2. Professional Courses in Programming
As the world becomes increasingly digital, tech professionals are in high demand. If you fancy starting a new career in the world of tech, a professional course in programming could be a great career move.
Data has become one of the fastest-growing areas in technology. As such, obtaining an Oracle SQL certification could arm you with the skills you need for a career in data analysis. Indeed, this popular professional course makes you job-ready in as little as a month, even with no prior experience. As a data analyst, you would use data to uncover insights into customer behaviour and offer solutions. You would also be responsible for communicating your findings to stakeholders. Therefore, an analytical mind and excellent communication skills are a major plus.
3. Professional Courses in IT Support
In our digital age, businesses are crying out for talented IT professionals to offer support to customers and staff. Therefore, if you are considering a career pivot to IT, a professional course in IT support could be extremely beneficial.
Google’s IT Support Professional Certificate Specialisation prepares you for an entry-level role in IT support. During the fully-online training course, you will learn the basics of operating systems, system admin, networking, and security. Since it’s a support role, experience in customer service and a problem-solving mind are highly desirable.
4. Professional Courses in Sports & Fitness
Since the outbreak of COVID 19, people in the UK are more concerned about their health and wellbeing than ever. As such, an increasing number of careers in sports and fitness are emerging. If you are passionate about nutrition, sports, and health, a professional course could help you find your dream job. Depending on the career path you choose, there is a wide selection of courses to choose from.
A professional course in sports and fitness could set you up for a career as a personal trainer, nutritionist, coach, dietician, physiotherapist, or consultant. Who knows, you could even go on to run your own sports centre or fitness brand.
5. Professional Courses in Customer Relationship Management
A Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) is in charge of the communication system between clients and businesses. As such, customer relationship professionals are responsible for protecting the brand image, building strong relationships with customers, and providing excellent customer care. To be successful in this field, you must be a strong communicator, tech-savvy, and a problem-solver. After all, CRM professionals work on the front lines to keep customers happy.
As a career changer, you may already have many of the necessary soft skills for this role. That said, you can boost your technical skills by doing short professional courses. For example:
- CRM courses
- Salesforce Sales Operations course
- Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce course
- Advanced Microsoft Excel course
Final Thoughts
Switching careers can be nerve-wracking, but obtaining a professional certification builds your confidence as well as your skills. Professional training courses for a career change arm you with the tools, technical skills, and experience to start a new professional chapter.
At Refreshing a Career, we aim to support you with your career transition. Our website offers a wealth of valuable resources, including career change guides, information on how to retrain, and much more.
For further advice, check out our resources on changing careers or browse our live job board for career change opportunities near you.
