Millions of people are taking online courses to level up their goal-setting, communication and technical skills this year, according to LinkedIn Learning, which recently released its top 20 most popular classes of 2022 so far.
The e-learning platform says some 7.3 million people have tuned into the top classes on the site — nearly double the audience during the same time period last year.
The most popular course, a 34-minute series on goal-setting taught by Google people development expert Jessie Withers, teaches learners how to set and reach strategic objectives with their teams — an important skillset at any time but perhaps even more so as companies respond to mounting economic pressures.
Interest in e-learning spiked during Covid with people stuck at home, and it remains high. According to LinkedIn Learning user data, users are logging on in droves to learn both soft skills (especially around communication and teamwork) and technical ones (like Excel, Python and SQL). Notably, economists say some of the most "recession-proof" skills include communication, flexibility and project management.
LinkedIn Learning is making its top 20 most popular courses of the year free to access through Aug. 31. Here's what's available:
1. Goal Setting: Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)
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Instructor: Jessie Withers
Money Report
Course description: Understand the power of strategic goals through how to set, manage and measure OKRs.
2. Excel Essential Training (Office 365/Microsoft 365)
Instructor: Dennis Taylor
Course description: Learn basic Excel skills such as organizing data and performing calculations with simple functions, then preview intermediate skills like building charts, PivotTables and more.
3. Interpersonal Communication
Instructor: Dorie Clark
Course description: Advice for dealing with interruptions, receiving critical feedback and communicating across cultures.
4. Cultivating a Growth Mindset
Instructor: Gemma Leigh Roberts
Course description: Hear examples of growth-mindset success, backed by research in the fields of performance and psychology, plus real-world advice that you can put to use.
5. Project Management Foundations
Instructor: Bonnie Biafore
Course description: Learn to set clear project goals and objectives, meet deadlines and close out projects. Plus, tips on how to communicate effectively with your project team.
6. Using Questions to Foster Critical Thinking and Curiosity
Instructor: Joshua Miller
Course description: Learn how curiosity and critical thinking can help you open doors and opportunities. Plus, a look at social media's role in asking questions, and how to effectively answer thought-provoking questions.
7. Essentials of Team Collaboration
Instructor: Dana Brownlee
Course description: Keep teams in sync by exploring communication styles, clarifying team and individual purposes, and creating opportunities for collaborative work.
Instructor: Stacey Gordon
Course description: Identify some of the most common forms of unconscious bias and learn strategies for effectively addressing them within yourself and your organization.
Instructor: Joe Marini
Course description: Unpack basic Python syntax and learn how to construct and run a simple Python program.
10. Communicating with Confidence
Instructor: Jeff Ansell
Course description: Organize your thoughts, use body language to better express ideas and overcome anxiety.
11. Speaking Confidently and Effectively
Instructor: Pete Mockaitis
Course description: Deliver impactful presentations by shifting your focus away from yourself to gain confidence, using body language and tone to deliver consistent messaging, and crafting a plan to recover from a worst-case-scenario incident.
Instructor: Caroline Wong
Course description: Get an overview of the 2021 Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Top 10 security threats, with insights about the prevalence and impact of each threat.
13. Power BI Essential Training
Instructor: Gini von Courter
Course description: Learn to use Power BI, the business analytics tools, to create and share impactful visualizations.
Instructor: Dorie Clark
Course description: Embrace a strategic mindset, use past lessons to shape your future vision, be detailed in your strategic thinking and share this skill with your team.
Instructor: Bill Weinman
Course description: Learn the major features of SQL using SQLiteStudio, an intuitive and accessible database management software.
16. Developing Your Emotional Intelligence
Instructor: Gemma Leigh Roberts
Course description: Learn about emotional intelligence, why it's important in the workplace and how to hone it.
Instructor: Brenda Bailey-Hughes and Tatiana Kolovou
Course description: Learn about the four building blocks of communication — people, message, context and listening — and how to apply them in meetings, email messages, pitches and presentations.
Instructor: Doug Rose
Course description: Learn about the values covered in the Agile Manifesto, plus how to enhance communication with user stories and cross-functional teams.
19. Digital Marketing Foundations
Instructor: Brad Batesole
Course description: Learn about online marketing, plus how to define your value proposition, identify your target market, and establish your goals and key performance indicators (or KPIs).
Instructor: Mike Figliuolo
Course description: Define the problem you're trying to solve and develop critical thinking skills.
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