Upskilling courses for your business

Helping your employees learn new skills and advance their existing abilities is a smart way to increase your business’s potential for growth and improvement.

But to maximise the benefits for your organisation, it’s important to ask: “What course should I do to upskill my business?”

While any courses to upskill your staff may be beneficial, you also need to consider which avenues will be advantageous for your business. You want your team to pick up skills that will help them in their own professional endeavours – as well as empowering them to achieve your business goals.

Now, when you think of upskilling courses, your mind might go straight to sites like Skillshare and LinkedIn Learning. Indeed, these programs play an important role in evolving specific skills for your team, such as filling in a niche knowledge gap or allowing your employees to explore their passion areas. When it comes to efficiently levelling up your whole workforce, though, a graduate certificate or diploma is more likely to reap the rewards you’re seeking.

Here are some of The University of Queensland’s postgraduate programs we believe would be excellent courses to upskill your workforce.

Best 5 courses to upskill your business

#1. Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics

Data is becoming increasingly vital for business success every day. But having data isn’t enough – you need people in your organisation who can translate and derive meaningful insights from your data.

The Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics can equip your team to handle and interpret data, enabling them to make better decisions and glean useful information from all your business’s touchpoints. These skills will only become more valuable in the future as topics such as protecting privacy and creating customised customer experiences become progressively complex.

Highlights of this upskilling course include:

• available as a part-time, fully online program
• small class sizes with a diverse virtual community
• develops each student’s ability to identify business opportunities.

#2. Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation

As a business owner or manager, you’re likely quite experienced at leading the way and coming up with inventive business solutions. Now imagine what your organisation could achieve with a whole team of innovators.

UQ’s Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation equips students with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to develop new products, drive growth and find new approaches to problems in society – all of which can help your business thrive now and in the future.

This program provides the perfect blend of career upskilling and business benefits. It helps your staff tackle community issues they care about, yet it also equips them to contribute to meaningful business outcomes.

Highlights of this upskilling course include:

• graduates receive a globally recognised qualification
• entrepreneurship and innovation are relevant to any organisation, from corporations to startups
• students learn from some of the best researchers and brightest minds in the world.

#3. Graduate Certificate in Communication

Communication skills are critical for success in any organisation and any industry. Upskilling your entire workforce in the way they connect with each other and external stakeholders could make an immeasurable difference to your business.

Studying a Graduate Certificate in Communication at UQ allows students to focus on communication for social change or strategic communication – depending on which direction is more relevant to your organisation and your employees’ personal interests. Specific topics available to study include:

• public relations
• policy and politics
• globalisation
• intercultural relations and globalisation.

Pursuing the strategic communication field in particular will allow your team to develop their ability to develop campaigns, use digital media and social media effectively, manage crises, and approach situations from an informed PR perspective.

#4. Graduate Diploma in Business Research Methods

Any organisation in the commercial world can benefit from having expert researchers in their team. By supporting your staff through a Graduate Diploma in Business Research Methods, you can ensure you’ve got the most effective and up-to-date approaches at your disposal.

This program offers a wide range of elective courses, from corporate finance theory to marketing theory, so your team can upskill in the specific areas most relevant to your business.

Highlights of this upskilling course include:

• learning from and working with internationally recognised leaders
• picking up new quantitative, qualitative and scientific research methods
• gaining the ability and confidence to analyse and understand business-related issues.

#5. Graduate Certificate in Business Administration

A Graduate Certificate in Business Administration can help your team specialise in business areas that will enhance their professional growth and their ability to impact your business. From veterans to early career workers, anyone can pick up new skills or hone their existing abilities in this program.

This certificate is ideal for workers who are ambitious about accelerating their careers. Supporting your team through their study can help ensure their drive and passion is directed at making a positive difference in your business – even if their long-terms goals might involve launching enterprises of their own.

Highlights of this upskilling course include:

• studying alongside brilliant peers and expert teachers from the best MBA program in Queensland
• flexible study options and extensive career support for your team
• hands-on learning experiences including a project-based capstone course.

The fact that you’re considering upskilling courses for your business means you’re already on your way to upgrading your workforce. Any of the programs listed above could give your team an edge – and there are plenty of other UQ postgraduate programs or short courses you could explore.