The COVID-19 era has changed the way professionals work, learn, and do business. Functions that once were traditionally face-to-face are now taking place across the digital space. This requires professionals to possess both the necessary digital skills and soft skills required to work, collaborate, and manage teams remotely.
LinkedIn’s data shows that professionals around the world have undertaken their learning journey in this regard seriously. In fact, hours spent learning on LinkedIn Learning in July 2020 is three times the amount in July 2019. But what exactly are they learning?
LinkedIn’s third annual Most Popular Courses list rounds up the top courses taken most by LinkedIn members in the past year (from July 2019 to June 2020) and offers insight into topics that are top of mind for professionals today.
Top 10 Most Popular Courses:
• Time Management: Working from Home
• Strategic Thinking
• Remote Work Foundations
• Learning Python
• Developing Your Emotional Intelligence
• Excel 2016 Essential Training
• Excel Essential Training (Office 365)
• Communicating with Confidence
• Cert Prep: Project Management Professional (PMP)®
• Project Management Foundations
The list reflects an interest in both digital skills and soft skills. It’s worth noting, though, that 5 out of 10 of these courses focus on soft skills. In fact, the number of people using LinkedIn to learn soft skills doubled in the past year, growing at an even faster rate than those learning hard skills.
In addition, LinkedIn’s data shows that these are the top five courses that are tailored to groups of professionals with specific needs.
| Function | Business | Job-seeker | IT |
| Top five courses per function | Time Management: Working from Home | Strategic Thinking | Learning Python |
| Strategic Thinking | Learning Python | Time Management: Working from Home | |
| Cert Prep: Project Management Professional (PMP)® | Cert Prep: Project Management Professional (PMP)® | Strategic Thinking | |
| Remote Work Foundations | Time Management: Working from Home | Learning Cloud Computing: Core Concepts | |
| Excel 2016 Essential Training | Excel Essential Training (Office 365) | Remote Work Foundations |
Now more than ever, workers need to pick up not just relevant digital skills, but also the necessary soft skills to help them in their day-to-day work functions. And this will remain true as we move forward. COVID-19 not only has accelerated the adoption of remote working, but it looks like it is here to stay.
LinkedIn’s data shows that the Philippines is one of the leading regions for growth in remote job postings, along with Australia and New Zealand. The top remote jobs in the Philippines are freelance writer, data encoder, accountant, data entry clerk, and technical support engineer.
To provide resources and tools to the professional community, LinkedIn will make the courses on its Most Popular Courses list free for all to use until 30 September 2020.
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