The 21 Best Online Courses for 2021

2020 is over! It's a distant memory, right? Well not quite, but nevertheless, now we look ahead to a new year, a blank canvas. What do you want to learn in 2021?

Based on the key skills employers need in the future and the new offerings from some of the best online education platforms around, we've taken a look at some of the best courses for 2021.

According to the Future of Jobs Report from the World Economic Forum, half of all employees will require re-skilling in the next four years, due to the increased adoption of technology all around us. Why not start now?

The report suggests that critical thinking and analysis, as well as complex problem-solving will be the prominent skills required by employers. Other skills such as resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility also emerge on the ‘Top 10 skills of 2025’ list.

Critical Thinking

• Creative Thinking: Techniques and Tools for Success - Coursera course, offered by Imperial College London

• Critical Thinking with Emotional Intelligence - Udemy

Problem-Solving

• Decision Making: Solve Problems with Emotional Intelligence - Udemy

• Management Consulting Skills Mastery - Udemy

• Solving Complex Problems Specialization - Coursera course, offered by Macquarie University

Personal resilience

• Build Personal Resilience - Coursera course, offered by Macquarie University

• Positive Psychology: Resilience Skills - Cousera course, offered by University of Pennsylvania

Looking ahead at the job landscape in 2025, according to the same WEF Future of Jobs Report, new jobs will emerge as high-demand roles, with Data Analysts and Scientists, and AI and Machine Learning Specialists being the top 2.

Data Analysts and Scientists

• Data Scientist Nanodegree - Udacity, in collaboration with IBM Watson, Insight and kaggle amongst others

• Data Analyst Nanodegree - Udacity, in collaboration with kaggle

• Data Science for Business Leaders - Udacity, in Partnership with alteryx

• The Data Science Course 2021: Complete Data Science Bootcamp - Udemy

AI and Machine Learning Specialists

• AI for Business Leaders - Udacity, Executive Program built in partnership with BMW

• Artificial Intelligence Nanodegree - Udacity

• Advanced Machine Learning Specialization - Coursera course, offered by National Research University Higher School of Economics

So if you’re looking to future proof yourself and your skillset, maybe you want to look into some of the courses above.

Or… maybe you just want to find something that really captures your imagination. Something that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. Without focussing on the stats and research of a global report, maybe you want to look at what you want, rather than what employers want…

So just for fun, here are some of our top picks for those choosing with your emotions:

How to Travel The World for Free as a Photographer - Skillshare

Intro to Self-Driving Cars Nanodegree - Udacity

Learn Guitar: The Complete Beginners Guide - Skillshare

Storytelling 101: Character, Conflict, Context & Craft - Skillshare

How to Make a Podcast: Plan, Record, and Launch with Success - Skillshare

iPhone Filmmaking: Create Cinematic Video With Your Phone - Skillshare

The Singer Songwriter Specialization - Coursera course, offered by Berklee College of Music

…

We could go on and on… but the last recommendation, or consideration to kick start your learning in 2021… Maybe you just want to consume the whole catalogue on MasterClass and learn shooting and ball-handling from Steph Curry, Producing and Beat-making from Timbaland, Acting from Natalie Portman, and cooking from Gordon Ramsey…

MasterClass