Problem solving skills are essential for nearly everyone who works in business, but especially for those in administrative and managerial roles! So, if you’re in one of these roles and you’re looking to progress your problem solving skills further, we have spent the time researching the best problem solving courses that are available online. We have included both free and paid courses, that are suitable for all levels, to ensure that you can find a course best suited to you!
But first – let’s answer a very important question – what are problem solving skills?
Problem solving skills are our ability to make efficient and effective decisions about a specific problem, whether that’s how to solve someone else’s errors or correcting errors in emails. Many employers look for these skills, because everyday in work place big and small problems need to be solved.
If you are an assistant or a manager, or someone who would one-day like to be in one of these roles, you can learn how to solve problems through online learning. Suitable for all levels, I have spent the time researching the best online problem solving tutorials out there. So, if you’re looking to progress your assistant or managerial skills, there will be an online course out there for you!
1. Effective Problem-Solving and Decision-Making (Coursera)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: Approx. 5h
- Cost: Enroll for Free
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 181,416
- Course rating: 4.5/5 (out of 4,826 ratings)
In this course, you will focus on critical thinking and the application of scientific methods and logical reasoning on problems and decisions. You will learn how critical thinking enables you to avoid common obstacles, test your beliefs and assumptions and correct any distortion in your though process. By learning all of this, anyone, in any job position, will have gained confidence in assessing problems accurately, evaluating solutions and picking the right thing to do.
This course is part of multiple programs. By taking the other programs too, this course can be applied to multiple specializations and professional certificate programs for those who want to advance their skills even further.
2. Decision Making: Solve Problems with Emotional Intelligence (Udemy)
- Level: Beginner to intermediate
- Completion time: 4h 2m
- Cost: $79.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 17,145
- Course rating: 4.5/5 (out of 4,524 ratings)
To complete this course, you need an interest in emotional intelligence and the ability to understand it, but no prior knowledge and experience is needed. What you do need, however, is a keenness to learn more about innovation, creativity and mindfulness as techniques to solve problems!
After working your way through a series of short lectures, you should have the ability to make better decisions for both assistant and managerial roles. You should be able to identify how you can make better decisions, how to improve barriers to creativity, how to move beyond familiar ways of thinking and investigate new ways to think, and how to use mindfulness to evaluate all attributes of the different options available!
3. How to Think Differently: 7 Easy Steps to Master Mental Models, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving (Skillshare)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 1h 26m
- Cost: 14 day free trial
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 1,238
- Course rating: N/A
This course is instructed by Troye Bates, a former literary agent who writes a popular blog on brain training. In this course is for those who are ready to see the world from a different perspective and follow a 7-step solution to make better decisions.
In these 7-steps, you will learn how to become the master of your choices. You will advance your critical thinking abilities and learn how to think logically and reasonably. On top of this, you will also learn to see the bigger picture, become a master strategist and understand the abundance and scarcity mindset. Finally, you will take a look at why you should reflect before you take action on nearly every decision!
4. Master Class – Creative Problem Solving & Decision Making (Udemy)
- Level: Beginner to intermediate
- Completion time: 5h 34m
- Cost: $79.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 1,033
- Course rating: 4.3/5 (out of 251 ratings)
Suitable for students, working professionals, teachers, executives and anyone in between, this course will teach you how to make good decisions and solve all kinds of problems.
Unlike the other course on the list, this course covers three critical areas to success as a manager and an assistant: creative thinking, problem solving and decision making. Once you’ve covered all of these three things, you should have unlocked your hidden potential and be able to solve problems in a fun, yet efficient, manner whatever your position is within a company!
5. Creative Problem Solving (Coursera)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: Approx. 14h
- Cost: Enroll for Free
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 210,194
- Course rating: 4.4/5 (out of 1,993 ratings)
Looking specifically at creative problem solving, this course deals directly with your ability for creativity – a crucial skill in ANY field. Through a series of creativity building exercises, short lectures and readings, you will develop an understanding of creativity and how you can increase your own creative decision making ability!
You will cover a huge range of topics, ranging from divergent and convergent thinking to creativity and observation. Once completed, you should be able to make all sorts of business decisions using your creative brain!
6. Using Creative Problem Solving (Future Learn)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: Approx. 16h
- Cost: Free
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 21,511
- Course rating: 4.6/5 (out of 50 ratings)
Offered by the National Chiao Tung University, this four week course will teach you how to solve everyday problems using creativity.
You will begin by starting off with some activities to get those creative juices flowing and gain a deeper understanding of what creativity really is. After, you will discover how you can enhance your own creativity using the 4 p’s of creativity. Finally, you will then look at creative problem-solving using tools like mind mapping, brainstorming and brain writing.
Once completed, you will have achieved the ability to solve problems creatively by applying creative problem-solving skills and exploring creative problem solving.
Conclusion
So, there you have it… the 6 best problem solving courses that are available online. These classes are suited to anyone who is wanting to develop their skills to become a fantastic assistant or manager in any industry.
Having excellent problem solving skills will aid you in thousands of careers, as these skills will allow you to help with the smooth operations of a business. Specific careers where problem solving skills are particularly helpful include:
- Customer Service
- Logistics Manager
- Marketing Manager
- Operations Manager
- Sales Assistant
- Sales Manager
- Travel Agent
- Warehouse Manager
To gather the problem solving skills that will make you progress in lots of careers, there are lots of online courses available for you. There are free courses that take as little as an hour to complete, and there are more expensive courses that much longer to complete! Some courses are suitable for those with no previous experience in similar roles. Whereas other courses are better suited for those with lots of experience as an assistant or manager who are specifically looking to increase their skill set further.
The online classes in this list are the best of the best. Each is taught by an experienced and dedicated teacher, and they all have lots of satisfied and happy customers.
So, which course you decide take depends on your experience, funds and spare time. Are you someone who has lots of experience as a manager? Or, are you completely new to assistant roles? Do you have a huge amount of money to spend on your skill development? Do you have a lot of spare time? Or, are you just looking for a quick, but effective, skill top up?
