Certifications has become very important in both academic and professional world. And as E-learning is taking over since we are in the modern technology world, getting certifications has become easy, simple and flexible. This has made education online very lucrative and expensive.
This article enlists almost the popular and reliable platforms where you can get worldwide accepted certifications and online courses to study for free. This is a guide for all African residents like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Egypt, Tanzania etc.
Just as mentioned earlier, certifications has become so precious in our academic and professional discourses. Today, individuals applying for scholarships, masters or even PHD programs are asked to submit their CVs. And individuals with rich CVs are likely to take available chances. To enrich your CV you definitely need to take online courses and certifications to prove yourself to be current and fully qualified for such a position or chance.
Same is done in the professional working world. Now jobs wants individuals work have the expertise they need. As in workers who are up to date in the industry they find their selves in. Like an individual applying for a Database manager position holding a certification in Database from IBM or Meta.
Also, another vital thing to consider is where you are getting that courses or certification from. These institutions have to be fully recognized and even accredited to big game players in the industry or on the Internet.
This is because most academic institutions and employers would definitely like to verify the validity of your so called certifications. And if its not from a reliable source you might loss a precious chance.
You might be asking yourself what are the best e-learning platforms that are fully recognized in the world today. Well some of these platforms are Udemy, LinkedIn learning, Udacity, Cisco, FutureLearn, Coursera, Free codecamp, Google, IMB, Meta, Tefl, Harvard online, Edureka and few others.
List then jump into the main motive of our article. The best platforms to take free online courses and certifications for free.
Contents
- 1 List of Websites And Platforms To Take Free Online Courses And Certifications
- 1.1 1. Cousera:
- 1.2 How To Get Certificates On Coursera
- 1.3 2. Google Skillshop (Formerly Digital Skills For Africa):
- 1.4 3. Udemy:
- 1.5 4. Free Code Camp:
- 1.6 5. Udacity:
- 1.7 6. Alision E-learning Plaform:
- 1.8 7. LinkedIn Learning:
- 1.9 8. Tefl Platform:
- 1.10 9. Harvard Online:
- 1.11 10. University Of The People:
- 1.12 11. YouTube Channels:
List of Websites And Platforms To Take Free Online Courses And Certifications
1. Cousera:
The Coursera is the first on our list for this guide. Coursera is an American online educational platform that is known to provide online courses and certifications for its customers. The platforms runs on a freemium model thus, they have both paid and free courses on their platform.
According to statistics online, they are one of the popular e-learning platforms in the world today. As they have come together with big industry players like IBM, Meta, Google and lots of universities in Northern America and Europe to provide educational excellence.
Most of the courses on there are created by universities like University of London, Milan, Geneva, Columbia university and many others. The best part of Coursera is, its a monthly based paid platform but they have free courses that come with certifications.
Not only that, premium courses can also be taken when you apply for financial aid a sort scholarship for individuals who need financial help to take their programs. Applying for this aid is simple and easy, you are just asking to write on two questions and then you submit your plea.
Once your application is reviewed and they think your goals and qualification match the courses your applied for, you’ll be given this aid and you’ll access this courses for free and get your certifications like you paid for it.
Reputable programs like Google IT support certification, Google Project Management, Meta Database engineer course and many others are all free to access if your financial aid is been approved.
How To Get Certificates On Coursera
To get your certificates on coursera, you’ll just have to verify your identity. Thus, with a recognized national identity document and you’re good to go.
Once you finish your courses enrolled for in your account, you’ll get your certifications and you can share them on your CV’s, LinkedIn profile etc.
2. Google Skillshop (Formerly Digital Skills For Africa):
Google’s skillshop is also one of the platforms were you can take free course and get your recognized certification online. Recently, Google moved all their accounts associated with their digital skills for Africa to skillshop.
On Google’s skillshop, there are numerous courses with certifications on there for free. Courses like digital marketing and e-commerce, programming, web development, designing and a lot of digital based skills.
Just like on Coursera, some of the courses of skillshop are paid but most of them are free. And the best part is all the courses on there were developed by Google’s team. So you should imagine how relevant such certifications will be.
Also, the paid courses are like an out sourcing thing. This simply means all the paid courses are outsourced from paid e-learning platforms like coursera. In this case, trying to take these courses on skillshop will refer you to these paid e-learning platforms.
If you are referred to a platform like coursera, just check whether the course has a financial aid option and then apply for aid and see whether you will be accepted to take this course. Apparently, with skillshop there are no verification needed to make before taking your certifications. All whats needed is for you to pass the required final exam.
3. Udemy:
Udemy is also one of the popular e-learning platforms on the internet now. They became popular through affiliate marketers selling their courses on there and also referring customers to purchase courses on there in which they will be earning some commissions.
Udemy is one of the simple and easy e-learning platform to access. Its like Google’s skillshop, they have both free courses and paid courses as well as certifications. On there some free courses comes with no certification. In this case if you need the skill for your own business or any sort, you can go with them.
Also they have paid courses that come with materials you that will enhance your learning on there. Courses in the information technology industry like networking, cybersecurity, web development, digital marketing, coding and few others are the popular courses on there.
Even though they have a catalogue of all courses you’d think about, the above mentioned all the popular ones for now.
4. Free Code Camp:
Free code camp is also one of the popular e-learning platforms online when it comes to the coding industry. Code camp is just like github, they are popular since they serve in a particular industry.
Code Camp platform is for individuals who are into and willing to learn and advance their skills and knowdge in the coding world. On there, you’ll find resoucres on codes HTML, CSS, Javascript and other web development languages.
A platform recommended for both beginners and pros in the coding space. They are one of the popular in their industry and courses completed there are surely recognized by some academic institutions and employers.
Also: IPMC Courses And Certifications
5. Udacity:
Udacity is also an American e-learning platform founded almost a decade ago by Sebastian. Just like Udemy and Coursera, there are also free courses on Udacity even though the platform is a paid platform.
Foundation courses are mostly free to take on Udacity. Thus, to get iyts advancement or even deeper in such courses you will need to be on a premium version to access them. Example of some free courses on Udacity now are, AWS Machine learning foundation, Introduction to Python, Introduction to data structures and algorithms, Machine learning, Tensorflow for deep learning and few other programs.
Just like Udemy, most popular courses and certifications on Udacity are in the business and technology domain.
6. Alision E-learning Plaform:
The Alision online platform is one fo the popular online and certification platforms on the internet. Especialluy in areas like in the UK, Ireland, Australia and few other English countries. Just like Coursera, Alision e-learning platform have collaboration and accreditation with big players in the industry.
The credibility of the platform is solidified after the UK government listed them as one of the best e-learning platforms their citizens can opt for. They have courses in almost all domains. And just like other e-learning platforms, they have both free and paid courses that comes with certifications.
Getting certifications from platforms like this can help boost your confidence, professional exellence and resume.
7. LinkedIn Learning:
LinkedIn learning is associated with the linkedIn platform. Linkedin learning is a premium feature and its available for individuals who pay the expected subscriptions. Mostly, we all use the free version of linkedin which is not a new thing.
But do you know you can get access to some of these programs available on linkedin learning for free. Once you show some sort of interest, you can get access to these programs for 24 hours and if you’ll able to finish any of this courses, you can share your accomplishment on your linkedin profile or even in your resumes.
Mostly, courses are recommeded to you based on the kind of profile you have. Thus, if your profile describes you as someone who has lots of interest in the marketing industry, you’ll be getting recommedations on marketing courses that is expected to help you build and acquire skills employers on linkedin are expecting from their future employees.
8. Tefl Platform:
The Tefl e-learning platform is also a platform that helps teachers gain experience as well as equipping them with industry approved certifications. Tefl is a payed platform, but have few free coourses for their students.
This is a platform we will recommed to individuals willing to jump or already in the teaching or tutoring domain.
9. Harvard Online:
Talking about the credibility of your online courses and certifications, Harvard online school is one of the best places to take your courses and certifications. Imagine having a certification from an ivy league school and apparently one of the best universities in the United States of America.
Harvard online courses are courses developed by Harvard tutors. Some of the courses on there are even included in the face to face academic classes. This is one of the best platforms to build up your academic gaps.
Academic gaps as in individuals willing to divert their program of study during their masters degree. In most cases, there prerequsities you should reach in order to be offered admission. Harvard online courses and certification is one of the best ways to fill in those gaps.
Harvard online’s catalogue is a huge one, you have courses from domains like health and medicine, social science, humanities, computer science etc.
10. University Of The People:
University of the people is actually a free tution university which is conducted onlien. Thus, you can gain a recognized diploma or even a degree for free without paying any tution. The only payment involved in this is your application fees which is mostly not above $100.
You can take programs like computer science and few others. Just like in university admission process, to take some courses you’ll need to have some prior knowledge or ability in order to be able to be enrolled for such program.
Also: University Of Ghana Distance Education Requirement, Courses And Fees
11. YouTube Channels:
The last on our list is YouTube channels, there are numerous course videos on the internet for free. The only con about this is, most of them do not come with certifications but you’ll gain the needed skills.
I myself, learnt domain reselling, digital marrketing, SEO and website managemnt on YouTube before I decided to take a certification to make my skill more credible. You’ll get a full video on your favorite course or program no matter your industry.
We have listed some of the credible channels were you can get your courses videos for free on YouTube.
YouTube Channels To Take Online Courses
There are numerous YouTube channels where you can learn and gain expertise. The only con about this is you won’t be getting certifications for this type of courses. Check the channel list below.
1. Simplilearn
2. Envanto Tuts
3. Free Codecamp
4. Flux Academy
In conclusion, today some industries are growing so fast that there are new updates and skills persons in these industries need to adept. The only way to adept and not be left behind is by taking these courses with certifications and also embarking on projects to prove how realistic your skills are.
Industries like cybersecurity, programming or coding, web development, real estate, data science, digital maketing, tutoring and few others are some of the growing industries in the world now.
Persons trying to pursue a career in any of these fields should embrace them selves with lots of knowledge and expertise for employers to trust them with their companies or jobs. Try the above listed platforms and increase your capabilities.
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