How To Upskill For A Career Change

We spend so much of our time in the problem-solving part of our brain that we don’t think much beyond the next task. We become so used to this narrow avenue of thought that it becomes difficult to escape and we become walled in by short-term thinking. 

Without embodying it often we all recognise the opposite state of mind. When you stare at the stars on a cloudless night and those distant but familiar feelings of smallness and transience arise, it makes you think in geological time. The time it takes for stars to die, mountains to crumble and oceans to form. It can make you consider your life from a wider perspective than just the next few deadlines.

Before smartphones, laptops and content management systems we would have occupied this headspace far more often. We could project ourselves into the future with enough perspective to tease apart our own desires from those imposed upon us and see where we truly aspire to be.

Many are predicting that in the near future the jobs market is going to suffer a serious skills shortage. This will be in many areas from digital skills to green skills to tech and beyond. The New Economics Foundation found that only 6% of people are upskilling themselves making it a golden opportunity to get ahead. 

There are of course many other reasons you may want to upskill. You may want a promotion, a complete career change or to expand your role. Let’s take a look at the different options to upskill yourself for the future you want. 

Free online courses

These are, obviously, the most cost-effective choices, and not necessarily any less useful. Lots of skills needed in the job market are simple enough to grasp via a free online course. You will stand out by demonstrating your proactivity and passion, not only by picking up new skills. It is also true that many free workshops are as good as their paid-for counterparts. 

Some brilliant organisations to look out for free courses include:

• General Assembly - from courses for coding and data science to digital marketing and visual design, General Assembly are the place to go for free upskilling. They also have a range of more in-depth paid courses.
• Codeacademy - This company can help you learn all aspects of tech for free. From courses on the backend, front end, full stack and computer engineering, they completely cover all the skills you could need. 
• Google digital garage - Google provides a mixture of free courses around digital marketing, data and career development. 
• Hubspot - Hubspot has a massive range of free online courses alongside many other resources such as Ebooks, kits, guides and more.

Paid online courses 

• FutureLearn - From short courses to online degrees, the range of upskilling opportunities on FutureLearn is enormous. You can also earn micro-credentials which are recognised academic and professional certifications. For a monthly subscription of £19.99, you can learn from almost all of the short courses available.
• Udemy - With over 196,000 courses, Udemy helps organisations of all types and sizes prepare for the path ahead. Their courses cover all aspects of professional development and upskilling that you could imagine. 

Volunteering 

Not only is volunteering a fantastic way to gain the skills in the job role you desire but also to demonstrate your passion and ambition.

• Escape the City - That’s us! We’re always updating our volunteering opportunities on our site.
• Reach Volunteering - Join the inspiring community at Reach and search for volunteer opportunities that can give you the experience you need to get to the next level and make a positive impact on the world. 

Programmes

• Escape the City - Whoops, us again. We host fantastic upskilling, retraining and loads of other courses and programmes on our website that will help you in whatever you’re working towards. From tech courses in Web Development and Cyber Security from Ironhack to the Social Impact and Career Growth Fellowship from MovingWorlds and so many more 

If there is an area that interests you, don’t waste any time in launching into upskilling, even if the skills it teaches are currently outside of your current job role. No knowledge is useless and you never know what it can lead to. If you aren’t sure, check out all the resources here and see what gets you excited. With all the free courses available you no longer need to take any risks. We wish you all the best in upskilling to escape!

For more advice on how to manage a career change check out our article Should I Quit My Job And Do Something New? Read this if you’re wondering about How To Successfully Make A Mid-life Career Change. Finally, here are 6 Inspiring Escape Stories to prove that it is all possible.