Work skills
Enhance your work skills without committing to full-time study.
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
Badge icon
Education & Development
Leadership and followership
This free course, Leadership and followership, will help you to explore what makes a good leader, recognise common leadership challenges, and identify the skills you need to develop if you want to enhance your own leadership experience.
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
Badge icon
Money & Business
Effective communication in the workplace
This free course, Effective communication in the workplace, explores the importance of communication as a skill in the workplace. It aims to increase your understanding of communication skills and to help you to consider how your communication could be perceived by others. You'll cover areas such as verbal and non-verbal communication, written ...
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
Badge icon
Money & Business
Exploring career mentoring and coaching
This free course, Exploring career mentoring and coaching, will explain what mentors and career coaches do and how a colleague or expert who can ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, and help an individual to find the best solutions for themselves, can make a significant difference in a wide range of situations and contexts.
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
Badge icon
Money & Business
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace
Do you feel concerned about a lack of diversity in your workplace? Is this something you want to address? Perhaps you’d like to feel more informed on a personal level before taking it further organisationally? This free course introduces you to the benefits and complexities of developing and supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce. It ...
article icon
Education & Development
How to say no at work without guilt or conflict
Setting boundaries at work can be challenging, but knowing how to say no effectively is an essential skill. Whether you're protecting your time, managing workload, or maintaining a healthy work-life balance, the way you communicate your refusal can make all the difference. Here’s how to do it with clarity and professionalism.
article icon
Education & Development
Bringing up problems at work (without making things worse)
Talking about problems at work can feel risky but it doesn’t have to be. This article explores how to raise issues constructively, using a simple framework that focuses on clarity, solutions and professionalism.
article icon
Education & Development
Shared documents and constructive collaboration
Giving feedback on shared documents can be tricky, especially when you’re trying to balance clarity with kindness. In this article, we explore how to collaborate constructively, choose the right tone, and avoid the common pitfalls of remote teamwork.
free course icon
level 3: advanced icon
Badge icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Returning to STEM
This free badged course, Returning to STEM, offers useful skills and solutions to help you get back into a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM).
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Data analysis: visualisations in Excel
Evidence comes in the form of qualitative or quantitative data about the world around you. It is not always obvious, however, how to structure, aggregate, analyse or interpret the data to help you make decisions. In this free course, you will look at how to use data to make decisions in a systematic way using Microsoft Excel. Microsoft Excel ...
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
Health, Sports & Psychology
Developing employability through sport and physical activity
While many people recognise the positive impact of engaging in sport and/or physical activity on their physical and mental well-being, research indicates that participation can also equip us with valuable skills that enhance our employability. Engaging in sport and physical activity provides opportunities to develop a diverse skill set that can ...
free course icon
level 1: introductory icon
Badge icon
Society, Politics & Law
Introducing Black leadership
In this free course, you will develop skills to empower yourself as a leader. Guided by the Five Ps model of leadership (person, process, position, product and purpose), you will learn about the challenges and possibilities of Black leadership. Developing skills in communication, critical analysis and teamwork will promote competence in a wide ...
free course icon
level 3: advanced icon
Education & Development
Inclusive Leadership: Collaborating for professional development
This free course will enable leaders and aspiring leaders in a range of educational settings to consider different approaches to leading inclusive professional development. Students will be introduced to concepts and practices for collaborative enquiry and contextually relevant professional development. They will be encouraged to reflect on how ...
Find the right course for you
At The Open University, we're pioneers of flexible learning that's respected by employers and affordable for you. That's why more than 170,000 students are studying with us right now.
Whatever subject you want to study, and whatever qualification you want, we've got the right course for you.
Create your free OpenLearn profile
Track and share your learning and achievements.