Managers need project management skills to ensure that projects stay on track and meet milestones and goals. As well as just being able to ensure a project meets a deadline, project management skills means that you can map out timelines, assess project risks and opportunities, manage budgets, communicate with stakeholders, and troubleshoot problems.
If you want to become any type of manager, from a marketing manager to an IT manager, project management skills will be a great asset. You will be able to take on any responsibility and lead your team to great success. To gather these project management skills, you can take online courses that will get your skills up to scratch. We’ve created a list of the 7 best project management courses that are available online, we’ve included both free and paid versions so that you can find one most suited to your budget.
1. The Project Management Course: Beginner to PROject Manager (Udemy)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 7h 17m
- Cost: $194.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 76,524
- Course rating: 4.7/5 (out of 19,860 ratings)
In this course, you will learn the fundamental theories and best practices of project management, so that by the end of the course you will have the skills and knowledge needed to manage an entire project by yourself.
You will cover various project management phases, such as the initiation phase, the planning phases (cost, risk, timelines), the execution phase, the monitoring and control phase, and finally the closure page. On top of this, you’ll also receive over 15 project management templates and practical documents to help you structure and manage projects along your journey.
2. Introduction to Project Management: Methods & Tactics for Success | Learn with TeamGantt (Skillshare)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 1h 8m
- Cost: 14 day free trial
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 18,901
- Course rating: N/A
Project management is an important skill for those who are looking to stay sane, organized, on time and under budget.
In just over an hour, you will learn all the foundational approaches and strategies to project management. You will learn how to choose the right method for a project, the key skills to being a great project manager, psychology tips & tricks to people management and ways to customize tools for real-world use. This course is fantastic because the lessons are presented in bite-sized chunks, making them easy to digest. You will also receive pro tips, tricks and demonstrations so that you will feel empowered by your new project management skills!
3. The Complete Project Management Fundamentals Course + Cert (Udemy)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 11h 9m
- Cost: $104.99
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 25,197
- Course rating: 4.5/5 (out of 6,714 ratings)
If you want to learn how to lead projects, manage a team with confidence and kickstart your career in project management, then this course is for you. Through expert instruction, you will learn how to develop a budget, stick to a schedule and carry out a risk assessment. On top of this, you will also learn to understand the differences between different project management methodologies and you will get access to loads of resources you need for a project management certification.
Upon completion of this course, you will receive 2 certificates of completion and 4 digital badges, including a PM certified digital badge which you add to your CV to demonstrate your newfound skills.
4. Project Management in Real Life: Simple Workflows to Achieve Your Goals (Skillshare)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 23m
- Cost: 14 day free trial
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 10,667
- Course rating: N/A
This course is suitable for absolutely anyone, from social media managers to freelance clients. It will teach you how to plan and execute a successful project, so that you can be the best project manager out there!
In just 23 minutes, you can begin your adventure into becoming a project management whiz. You will learn how to set actionable goals, create a detailed project plan, communicate with key stakeholders and capture learnings for next time. So, whether you’re looking to simplify your workflow, learn new strategies for project success or aim for bigger and better goals, this simple and straightforward class is the perfect primer to get you started.
5. Project Management Principles and Practices Specialization (Coursera)
- Level: Beginner
- Completion time: 1 hour/week for 5 months
- Cost: Enroll for Free
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 175,570
- Course rating: 4.7/5 (out of 17,824 ratings)
In this 5 month Coursera tutorial, you will learn everything you need about project management. You will learn how to define the scope of a project and how to write various project plans. You will also look at how to build a work breakdown schedule, how to create a project budget and how to identify and manage risks.
Throughout this course you will also complete a series of projects and assignments so that you can put your learn skills to practice and safely allocate resources, manage project development and understand project procurement processes to the best of your ability.
6. Online Project Management Certificate (CSU Online)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 1 year
- Cost: N/A
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: N/A
- Course rating: N/A
Offered by Colorado State University, this course takes up to one year to complete and puts you in the perfect position to project manage in todays busy and fast-paced environment. Whatever sector you aspire to project manage in, from Geography to Biotechnology, you will find something useful on this course.
Delivered using a highly interactive “shared learning” approach, you can earn points towards your PMP exam through weekly discussions, team exercises and quizzes. You will cover the common project management language and processes. After, you will take a look at the role of a project manager and team, the phases of a project cycle and how to effectively manage project scope, risk, communications and integration. Suitable for all levels of experience of project management, you will learn something valuable in this course.
7. Diploma in Project Management (Alison)
- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
- Completion time: 10-15h
- Cost: Free
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 283,895
- Course rating: 5/5
Project management skills and expertise are in great demand internationally, and in this course you will learn project management abilities and techniques to enhance your career prospects. This free course will be of great interest to professionals who manage projects and would like to quickly improve their skills online.
The course will begin by explaining various phases of the ‘system development lifestyle’, such as analysis, planning, design and elevation. You will then look at other tools, such a PERT charts and ‘Gantt’ programs before going over a series of case studies that demonstrate successful project management.
Conclusion
So, there you have it… the 7 best project management courses that are available online. These classes are suited to anyone who is wanting to develop their skills and land a role as a manager.
Having excellent project management skills will aid you in landing hundreds of exciting careers. Specific careers where project management skills are particularly helpful include:
- Content Creator
- IT Manager
- Marketing Manager
- Marketing Assistant
- Operations Manager
- Sales Manager
- Software Developer
- Software QA
- Warehouse Manager
To gather the project management 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 only a few hours to complete. And, there are more expensive courses that take over 10 hours to complete! Some courses are suitable for those with no previous experience in project management. Whereas other courses are better suited for those with lots of experience in project management, but are looking to increase their knowledge and understanding.
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 email project management? Or, are you completely new to managing projects and people? 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?
