THE TOP 12 PLATFORMS TO LEARN IN-DEMAND TECH SKILLS FOR FREE

It’s incredible how some platforms have made it super financially easy for individuals to learn tech skills for free. You don’t necessarily have to save huge money to take a tech course. Even if you have to, depending on your specific course type, the great thing is that these platforms already have free courses to get you started. Besides, some even have the complete curriculum for free.

How sweet is that! 😋

It is no news that the rise in the need for digital skill acquisitions has opened up new career paths. It has also helped pave the way for individuals to be innovative, creative, and tech-savvy as they build new skills. However, with these new career paths unlocked, it is essential to be informed on channels through which these skills can be learned and honed. Some top platforms allow us to learn tech skills for free. That and more make this post super timely because many people are already interested in transitioning to tech. And it could be to focus on non-coding tech skills or coding tech skills.

Here are 12 top platforms you can learn in-demand tech skills

1. Betterchalk

Betterchalk is an excellent online platform where you can learn in-demand tech skills. Betterchalk’s approach emphasizes the practical application of skills to reinforce learning. This is why their courses include assessment formats like quizzes and verified coding challenges. However, courses and assessments are administered through integrated development environments with support for technologies such as JS, SQL, HTML/CSS, and Command-Line. They also have a free course that teaches you about Linux commands.

2. Coursera

This is a global learning platform that provides learning experiences to learners around the world. Over 250 of the best colleges and businesses worldwide, including Google, Yale, the University of Michigan, IBM, and more, are partners with Coursera. It ensures that tests are done while you are enrolled in a course and that you are given tasks to complete. This enables you to understand more about the brand-new skills you are picking up.

The courses offered on Coursera are not entirely free, but the platform has over 1400 free courses. Some courses include Python, machine learning, data science, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, programming, web development, and many other tech courses and tools.

3. Khan Academy

In order to provide free online education to students, Khan Academy was established in 2006 as a non-profit educational institution. With additional exercises available online for educators and students, lessons are given through YouTube videos. Nearly 20,000 subtitle translations are available for the courses. Moreover, most of these courses may be accessed on a mobile device and are available in multiple languages. As you develop in your career, it’s a simple method to pick up new skills, even though it may not be a formal education. You learn at your own pace. Khan Academy first fills in the gaps in your understanding and then accelerates your learning. Moreover, with Khan Academy, teachers can identify gaps in their students’ understanding, tailor instruction, and meet the needs of every student.

4. Code Academy

This is a platform where you get access to tech courses for free. Codeacademy offers free coding classes in programming and markup languages, including Python, Ruby, Java, JavaScript, jQuery, React.js, AngularJS, HTML, Sass, and CSS. The courses promise to give hands-on experience and real-time feedback from peers. Moreover, they offer you the chance to start your journey into web development when you take the Front-end web development learning path.

Other learning path options are available, including full-stack, Front-end engineering, and other career skills like computer science, Data Science, and more. If you’re a self-motivated individual, the free basic courses may be sufficient to teach you the fundamentals of coding.

5. Plural sight

Plural sight empowers you to upgrade your tech skills, build tech fluency and streamline faster. Whether you’re an individual looking to learn Python to advance your career or an enterprise team looking to cut cycle times, we remove the challenges and roadblocks slowing you down. As an enterprise, they also help you speed up onboarding and give your teams the skills to realize your strategies. Plural Sight is advancing the world’s tech workforce. They make your work more efficient and effective and give you more to celebrate.

This platform allows you to master IT and cloud tools for 10 days for free. These courses include; Amazon web services (AWS), Azure HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

6. Udemy

Udemy is an e-learning platform allowing learners worldwide to launch new careers, with a wide selection of over 200,000 online courses and more than 1000 free courses. They target professional adults who need to fit education into their busy work schedules. Udemy stands tall as one of the most popular e-learning platforms out there. 

This is the site to visit if you want to add new skills or try out a hobby. The courses you can access include; Linux, HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Amazon web services (AWS). Udemy is also kid-friendly and excellent for kids to develop new skills.

7. Udacity

This is an online learning platform that helps individuals develop job-ready skills. Udacity provides you with the most in-demand skills by teaching you what IT employers want. The courses on Udacity are not 100% free, but they offer some free online courses in Amazon web services, machine learning foundation, introduction to python, etc.

Each of their courses includes exercises, and you receive individualized assistance from the support staff. The content is designed to help you land your next position in the tech sector. This is a fantastic site if that has always been your dream. You might join the over 100,000 students who have graduated from Udacity.

8. Upskill

 This is a high-quality tech training platform that offers over 200 courses for free to its users, including; HTML, React, Javascript, CSS, etc. They have trained over 70,000 students in different countries and helped individuals to grow their skills and give them a higher employability rate. 

9. Alison.com

Alison offers a comprehensive choice of free IT courses in hardware, software, game development, IT management, mobile apps, software engineering, data science, databases, and essential IT skills. Alison collaborates with professionals from business, education, industry, and governmental organizations.

They gives students the option to select between shorter courses and (lengthier) diploma courses. These courses are free, however there is a cost if you want a digital certificate that may be printed after you finish the course.

Moreover, they provide the chance for individuals to learn in-demand skills, offering over 4000 courses, with over 900 free tech courses such as Python, Javascript, C++, blockchain, computer networking, server management, etc. The IT category on Alison.com, where tech courses are listed, is one of the most popular categories visited with in-depth course tutorials.

10. Microsoft Learning

 Microsoft provides a number of certifications and learning courses for its many services and products. Learning paths include a number of modules that are pertinent to the course topic, whereas certificates are more narrowly focused and require passing one or more tests. Microsoft offers free self-paced training and tests, but if you prefer an instructor-led course, Microsoft Certified Trainers can help. If you want completely free courses, you should keep in mind that it’s not a given that the licensed trainers will offer them.

11. Skillshare

If you are a UI/UX designer or a web developer Skillshare is the best platform for you, it helps you boost your tech skills. This platform offers free courses in UI and UX design and web development. Moreover, they offer courses in business analytics, which may be useful for those working with data. Skillshare also has a premium plan for its users and offers virtual classes such as video lessons, transcripts, template to work with, and project overviews.

The majority of classes, often known as “courses,” don’t cover everything at a go. To fully understand the subject, you’ll probably need to take several lessons on it. However, it is an incredible platform, and it’s unquestionably one of the best.

12. Edx

EDX is an online platform that offers courses from universities such as Harvard and Oxford. Surprisingly the courses are offered for free, and learners are given the opportunity to receive a certificate after completing a course. Moreover, some of the courses are graded as college or university credits depending on the school.

Some of the courses offered on EDX include videos, interactive elements, graphics, data visualizations, and others. Besides, you can show what you have learned by practicing the quizzes. EDX could be your best option if you want a fun and exciting manner to complete challenging courses.

Although these platforms offer partly/entirely free full-packed courses that allow individuals to learn and grow skills, there are also other learning platforms to grow your tech skills. Companies greatly value employees who have good interpersonal skills, even if the main focus is the hard skills brought to the table. Nonetheless, it is paramount that you understand the difference between soft and hard skills and understand the soft skills you would need to stand a much better chance at that job or role.