Best Free and Paid Online Courses to Land Remote Roles

Want to land a remote job in today’s competitive online job market? Taking online courses for remote jobs,  whether free or paid, can help you build the skills and confidence remote employers look for. Remote jobs require an ability to work independently and use modern apps efficiently. Quality remote work courses can teach these skills and more, making your CV stand out.

Access resources (webinars, masterclasses, guides etc) to help you succeed in remote work

Why Taking Courses Helps You Get Remote Work

Taking online courses helps you:

• Build relevant skills employers care about, such as communication, project management, and digital collaboration.
• Signal professionalism and initiative on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
• Gain practical experience or certificates that can differentiate you from other applicants.
• Learn at your own pace, which models the very autonomy remote roles require.
• Complement your traditional credentials (such as a bachelor’s degree or diploma).

Best Free Remote Work Courses

The following courses are mostly broad in nature rather than industry-specific. They focus more on transferable skills such as communication, collaboration, productivity, time management and leadership, which are relevant across many sectors. This means they are suitable for learners from a wide range of professional backgrounds, not just one particular field.

Remote Work Revolution for Everyone (Harvard University/edX)

What you’ll learn: Helps you understand how remote work operates, from productivity and collaboration to trust and digital tools, using real-world cases and strategies that apply to employees and managers alike. Access: Free to audit (study content at no cost).

Best Practices for Remote Work (Alison)

What you’ll learn: Teaches how to stay productive and connected in remote or hybrid teams and explains the tools and trends that power effective virtual collaboration. Access: Free.

Becoming a Remote Work Advisor (Alison)

What you’ll learn: Prepares you to help organisations transition to and thrive in remote work by crafting policies, choosing tools, and improving team collaboration. Access: Free.

Remote Team Management and Leadership (Alison)

What you’ll learn: Focuses on leading remote teams well, including holding effective virtual meetings and navigating team dynamics, productivity, and well-being from a distance. Access: Free.

Remote Employment Opportunities (Oxford Home Study Centre)

What you’ll learn: Covers remote work opportunities and necessary skills, including creating a strong online presence, mastering virtual communication, and managing projects. Access: Free.

Collaborative Working in a Remote Team (FutureLearn/University of Leeds)

What you’ll learn: Teaches practical strategies for collaboration, using digital tools and planning techniques, and helps you prepare a remote-work action plan. Access: Free to audit.

Communication and Interpersonal Skills at Work (FutureLearn)

What you’ll learn: Builds communication skills that help you express ideas clearly and work effectively with others, essential in remote environments. Access: Free to audit.

Emotional Intelligence at Work (FutureLearn)

What you’ll learn: Helps you understand emotional intelligence, including how to manage emotions, resolve conflict, and improve interpersonal interactions, which helps collaboration in remote settings. Access: Free to audit.

Hybrid Working: Digital Communication and Collaboration (OpenLearn)

What you’ll learn: Explores how communication and collaboration have changed in hybrid/remote workplaces and how new norms and techniques shape teamwork. Access: Free.

Building a Remote-First Company Culture (Alison)

What you’ll learn: Teaches how to foster culture and team cohesion in fully remote organisations, boosting collaboration, engagement, and work-life balance. Access: Free.

Best Paid Remote Work Courses

As with the free courses above, this list of paid courses is mostly broad rather than industry-specific. They also focus more on cross-industry remote-work skills, such as productivity, communication, time management, leadership, and collaboration.

Remote Work Foundations — LinkedIn Learning: Covers the core principles of working remotely, including structuring your workday, managing time and focus, communicating effectively with distributed teams, and building sustainable remote work habits.

Leadership in Remote Work (Coursera): Teaches how to lead distributed teams by building trust, fostering clear communication, managing conflict, and supporting remote employee engagement.

The Complete Telecommuting Course – Remote Work & Work Life (Udemy): Teaches telecommuting strategies, remote work tactics, work‑life balance, and productive routines for working outside a traditional office.

Work From Home: Productivity and Time Management Techniques (Udemy): Focuses on organising your days, eliminating distractions, and balancing productivity with well‑being while working remotely.

Communication in Remote Work (Coursera): Covers essential communication strategies for virtual environments, including trust-building, relationship development, and teamwork dynamics.

Working from Home Essentials – Working from Home Training (Udemy): Covers essentials of working from home, including productivity basics, remote tools, and habits for success.

Working From Home Online Course (Training Unlimited): Provides tools and strategies for remote work success, including time management and maintaining a professional environment.

Effective Remote Working Training (Apex Learning): Equips learners with skills for efficient remote working, communication, and productivity.

Effective Remote Working Training (Reed.co.uk): A short online course that teaches remote productivity, communication, and teamwork skills.

Remote Job Academy/How to Get a Remote Job (Udemy): Helps learners understand the remote job market, build applications, and prepare resumes tailored for a remote job search.

Essentials of Remote Team Management (Coursera): Teaches how to plan communication systems, set up remote work tools and norms, and tackle challenges like disengagement and miscommunication.

Remote Work & Freelancing: Find a Remote Job and Work Online (Udemy): Step‑by‑step training on finding remote work opportunities, improving applications, and landing remote or freelance roles.

Remote Job Mastery 2025: Land International Remote Jobs (Udemy): Covers advanced strategies like optimising LinkedIn profiles, creating video resumes, and uncovering job portals for international remote work

Tips to Help You Choose the Right Remote Work Courses

1. Research Both the Provider’s Reputation and the Course Quality

Start by checking the reputation of the platform or institution offering the course, as well-known and trusted providers are more likely to deliver reliable courses. At the same time, don’t rely on the provider's reputation alone. Also pay close attention to what the course actually includes.

A good remote work course should have a clear structure, practical lessons, and up-to-date content that reflects how remote teams really work today. Check reviews, ratings, and course outlines to see whether learners found it useful and whether the material goes beyond surface-level tips.

2. Make Sure It Suits Your Schedule and Lifestyle

One of the biggest advantages of remote work courses is flexibility, but this varies from program to program. Some courses are fully self-paced, while others require you to follow weekly schedules or attend live sessions.

Think about how much time you can realistically commit and choose a course that offers the right balance of structure and freedom, especially if you’re studying alongside work or school.

3. Weigh the Cost Against the Real Benefits

When choosing a course, think in terms of cost–benefit, even if the course is free. Cost doesn’t only mean money; it can also include time commitment, effort, workload, and opportunity cost.

A free course that takes months to complete may not always be better than a shorter, more focused paid one (note that even if a course is free, you still need to buy data and light to access it).

The key is to evaluate whether the skills, knowledge, and credentials you gain are worth the time, energy and money you invest, and whether they realistically improve your readiness for remote roles.

4. Think About Long-Term Career Value

Instead of focusing only on short-term benefits, think about whether the course teaches skills you’ll continue to use over time. Examples include transferable skills like communication, time management, collaboration, and self-organisation that remain useful no matter how your role or industry changes.

Conclusion

Taking the right online courses for remote jobs can give you the confidence and skills to stand out to remote employers. The free and paid courses above mostly offer broad foundational knowledge and skills for remote work, from which you can then pursue certifications specific to your role or industry.

Courses with a greater focus on particular roles or industries will be covered in future articles.