Massive Surge in People Undertaking Online Teaching and Programming Courses This Summer To Prepare For COVID-19 Job Market

New research from @REEDcoUK has revealed that British workers are preparing for a new COVID-19 economy by upskilling or reskilling this summer, with online courses in online teaching, programing, and people management surging in popularity.

• ‘Teaching Young Learners Online’ course most popular among public, up 928% month-on-month
• The ‘COVID-19: Psychological Impact, Wellbeing, and Mental Health’ had the greatest spike in sales, rising by 533 between June and July 29, 2020
• Overall, the most popular course this summer is ‘Essential IT Skills Level 2’

Analysing the 40,000 courses available on reed.co.uk, the research revealed that the ‘Teaching Young Learners Online’ course experienced the fastest growth in active students, rising by a staggering 928% month-on-month in July. The ‘People Management’ and the ‘Programming for Everybody: Python Data Structures’ course also saw significant spikes in popularity in July, with both courses experiencing 600% and 490% growth, respectively.

The findings are encouraging signs that workers and jobseekers are preparing for the future British economy by enhancing their CVs and adapting their skills in line with current job vacancies. As the UK continues to return to normal, job opportunities are emerging, particularly in the education and banking sector, with opportunities in each sector rising by 72% and 85% respectively between June and July.

reed.co.uk also found that people up and down the country are preparing for a jobs market with a surplus of opportunities in social care industries and a high demand for workers with data skills. The ‘COVID-19: Psychological Impact, Wellbeing, and Mental Health’ had the greatest spike in sales rising to 4310 in total, 533 more than June. Meanwhile, ‘Data Analytics for Decision Making: An Introduction to Using Excel’ rose by 346 and ‘Financial Trading Course & Mentoring with eToro’ increased by 241.

Overall, the most popular courses this summer include ‘Essential IT Skills Level 2’ with 8,309 active students since June, followed by ‘Free CSCS Course’ (8,087) and ‘Business and Administration Level 2’ (6,951), continuing a trend from previous months.

Commenting on the figures, James REED, Chairman of REED, said:

“It’s great to see so many people being practical and using this time to upskill or reskill and revitalise their careers. The new skills they learn – such as online teaching and data analytics – will benefit them hugely, help to ease their return to work and enhance their CVs, while also benefitting the economy. In a challenging jobs market, this will be crucial to making them more competitive candidates and to help keep Britain working.

“I urge anyone who is currently furloughed or has some extra time to look into undertaking a course. There are so many courses at your fingertips on sites like reed.co.uk, and many of them are either free or cost next to nothing. The time you put into the course will be paid back tenfold, both by the skills that you acquire and the doors that these skills open.”