Why online learning works well for mid-career professionals

Online education provider, Shaw Academy, argues that online learning and extra outside-of-work training is key for mid-career professionals to advance their career, as well as for graduates starting out on their career path. 

Many assume that online learning is primarily for young people starting out on their career path, but at Shaw Academy, we believe online learning is for everyone. Including those who are looking to enhance their career.

Just because you aren’t studying a degree full time doesn’t mean that your learning days are over. If you are a mid-career professional looking to completely change your job or to improve the one you have, online learning should be something you consider.

Shaw Academy is a well-established online learning platform offering more than 100 courses welcoming students at all levels from around the world.

Online courses can breathe new life into your career

Anyone serious about fast-tracking their career doesn’t have to wait for their employer to offer training. With the plethora of online education options available today, you can study online with very little financial or logistical barriers and take positive actions to improve vocational skills. This is coupled with the fact that extra online CPD (continued professional development) shows senior management that you are willing to learn, grow and adapt, and that you are ultimately committed to self-development.  All of which go down well with employers

You don’t have to try to get a degree or expensive qualification to get advanced learning in. Given the options available, online learning can be taken at your own pace and slot around your current job and other responsibilities.

Here’s our pick of the courses on offer at Shaw Academy that are ideal for people mid-way through their career. From wellbeing to project management and from the latest design skills to office psychology, there’s something for everyone.

5 online courses that are ideal for mid-career professionals 

1. Leadership Training & Management Course

If you intend to move into management, or you want to improve your existing leadership skills, then this course would work well. We’ve seen over 290,000 graduates from this course, which is independently accredited. Split into four modules across 16 weeks, students attend 32 lessons taken by Shaw Academy educators.

Courses like these tend to focus on developing your team building skills, strategic planning and thinking, communication skills and how to get the most out of different kinds of people> It’s key that as a manager, you understand different people’s personalities as a leader or manager and how to lead in challenging times.

Reviews for this course can be found on our main website and you can also find out what people think on the dedicated reviews site for Shaw Academy.

2. Online Organisational Psychology Course

Taking a deep dive into organisational psychology is often key for better understanding how to navigate through to success in your organisational culture. By learning how to understand the psychological factors at play in the workplace, you can improve your management style.

It’s key to understand how the psychological make-up of individuals affects the way they behave and think at work. Our course in this subject area is ideal for people who are looking to move into management or who want to enhance their people skills, the course teaches how to manage teams at work, improve how the organisation functions and understand any systemic issues.

3. How to Start a Business: Online course

Maybe you’re ready to take the plunge and set up your own business. A course on how to start a business will help you find out whether it’s truly for you. A career-change mid-way through your career can be ideal for giving you a new lease of work life.

Courses like this teach you how to understand and adopt the mindset of successful entrepreneurs and how to plan every separate element of running a business by yourself. You need to know how to successfully execute an agile business model, how to expand your small business and how to maintain a competitive advantage into the future.

Deciding to become an entrepreneur can be very daunting, and courses like the ones offered by Shaw Academy are great for the fundamental concepts. Take the fear out of making this move and understand how you can run your own business successfully.

4. MS Excel Training Course Online

Excel is one of those programmes that takes time to learn, but when you understand how to use all of its functionality, can improve the way you manage your job. This course teaches how to create dynamic formulas and how to use Excel functions to generate data visualisations.

So far, we’ve seen 44,932 graduates in this course take away their online certification in Excel. By the end of the four modules, you’ll know how to analyse data using the functions and tools Excel offers, including pivot tables and slicers. The rest of the content covers creating templates, macros, custom lists and basic VBA techniques, how to utilise multiple sheets, printing options and workbooks and how to properly present the data using charts, graphs and spreadsheets.

5. Online Game Development Course

Game development is one of the biggest growth sectors around the world. Our  introductory course takes you through the basics to find out whether this could be the career change for you.

Course content covers the difference between becoming a game developer and a game designer. You’ll learn how to design a game, how to test new ideas by creating prototypes, how to use programming and how to find the best sources for making and obtaining assets like animations, music, sounds and 3D models. 

For a limited time, students can sign up to Shaw Academy courses and take the first four weeks of classes for free.