How to move your businesses online and unique online courses to take during lockdown
Yet another week of lockdown is over and we are running out of things to keep us entertained.
There is only so much DIY we can do before our homes start becoming a building site, the flour shortage has led to the British home bake off being placed on hold and attempting to start yet another new hobby that we quickly give up on is simply not appealing anymore.
Whether you’re furloughed, working from home, in-between jobs or a student, it seems to be the perfect opportunity to gain some more knowledge and add to our CVs. There are so many courses available online that it’s hard to know where to start, let alone if they will actually pique our interest enough to actually finish them, plus it’s important to find a CPD accredited course, otherwise all your efforts could have no credit attached to them.
More companies are now moving online and it looks like it isn’t just for this working-from-home period. Business owners are seeing the benefits of remote working over the course of the last few months, with some exercising the possibility of this becoming the new way of working indefinitely.
What Functions Can Businesses Use To Move Online?
It is crucial that these business owners seek out the best technology to generate the most productive and quality of their staff. Online training courses are becoming increasingly popular, especially while there is less work to be done in the virtual office, teaming this with online HR functions and internal communications.
Internal communications can involve using software such as Slack or Microsoft Teams, both of which provide instant messaging and video calling functions allowing streamlined communications with multiple staff members.
Project Management software such as Monday.com or Trello can help plan and track daily activity, ensuring that the team has visibility of daily actions and owners.
Google Sheets can allow multiple parties to access the same piece of work, providing live edits in real-time as well as instant feedback. This certainly saves from the prehistoric final-final-1.pdf documents of the past.
Unique Online Courses for Furloughed Employees
If you’re looking for inspiration for an online course, that not only offers accreditation but is also a little bit more unique and fun, check out The Unique Learning League. Here you’ll find a list of some of the most unusual courses available that, despite their odd branding, will actually provide some great content and knowledge for you in the future.
Become A Tour Guide Overnight
Tourists in Edinburgh love a guided tour, whether it be walking or otherwise. Has the current situation left you unemployed or perhaps you’ve had more than enough time to realise this is the perfect opportunity for a career change?
This course is brilliant if you want to be self-employed and show off your knowledge of our history-rich city! Spend your days showing interested visitors your passion for your city while having the opportunity to meet new people every day. The perfect new career to train in for after lockdown.
The course states it is for complete beginners so you don’t need any experience, just enthusiasm. Great for drama graduates who have missed out on auditions due to lockdown as well. A great performer makes a great tour guide.
How To Build A Rocket
Well, it looks like the kids won’t be going back to school in the immediate future and the homeschooling can be arduous at the best of times. With 122 schools in Edinburgh alone, that’s a lot of pupils rolling their eyes as parents attempt in vain to get them to concentrate.
The ‘How To Build A Rocket’ course is helping mums and dads to create a fun science lesson for their kids.
With easy-to-follow tutorials on how to create their own shuttle from inexpensive materials, the course also comes with information about the origin of each style of the rocket they are replicating, that’s a history and science lesson in one.
Get the kids to decorate their rockets and you’ve thrown art in there too.
Selfie Masterclass
This may not be to everyone’s taste but before you turn your nose up, it’s worth looking into. Packaged towards the Gen Z students, it can actually be a huge benefit for everyone.
This is a simple photography class but it utilises the aspects of a smartphone. While you may not be fussed about taking photos of yourself, it can be crucial to some businesses at the moment for marketing purposes.
Your company may use Instagram and Facebook to advertise new products or services, teamed with some professional photographs.
Due to social distancing, it isn’t always possible to have these shoots, so the marketing team at home may have to step in. Knowing how to make the most out of smartphones means you can capture good quality photos that are suitable for your social media pages.
You could also earn bonus points with bosses as you are saving them a lot of money (vital at this time) by not using photographers to have to invest in expensive equipment.
Learn To Survive A Zombie Apocalypse
While your first thoughts may be to barricade yourself inside the castle, after having stormed the local Tesco for all their canned goods while popping into B&Q en route to grab an axe and shovel for protection, this course is actually more beneficial then you may initially have thought.
In reality, it is an outdoor survival course packaged in a novelty way. It teaches how to acquire food, whilst also growing it and being as self-sufficient as possible. Your learning is adapted depending on where you live, whether the city centre or the suburbs, you will learn exactly what you need to acquire to keep safe.
It even offers the chance to learn to build primitive shelters, for a worst-case scenario and which area of Edinburgh would be the best place to live among the elements.
Train Your Dog To Walk On A Treadmill
This may not provide a lot of substance for your CV, unless you are planning a new career in this very specific field, but it could come in handy during lockdown.
Perhaps your dog needs exercise more than once a day, you might be self-isolating and not able to take them out at all.
How many of us have a treadmill that’s gathering dust from the handful of times we actually used it, put it to good use and get your pooch running? Perhaps your furry friend will inspire you to get back on there yourself.
There are even more unusual courses that can actually provide some form of benefit to current and future roles, see the full list from CPD Standards here https://www.cpdstandards.com/unique-learning-league
The business world has relied on the web for some years now but it is showing as more crucial than ever in this time. Who knows what new systems, programmes and courses will start to appear as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic?
Collaborative post
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
