How about boosting your earning potential by learning a new skill – for free? Use Moneymagpie’s guide and find courses that will cost you absolutely nothing.

There are many online courses available – but most will charge you. However, there are colleges, universities and voluntary organisations out there that are prepared to share knowledge and skills over the internet without demanding a fee.

• BBC Online
• Vision2Learn
• Open University’s Site
• University Lecture Podcasts
• Best of the Rest

BBC Online

The BBC offers free online courses on a huge range of subjects, from horticulture to Welsh language.

Their language section includes games, videos, dictionaries and online tests to help you gauge your level. You can even follow the BBC’s own online soap operas in different languages.

For many of their courses the BBC provides extensive links to its news, documentaries and radio programs to help you on your way.

Vision2Learn

This site offers courses including computer skills, sports coaching, money skills and business skills and can lead to a recognised NVQ qualification.

Vision2Learn courses are funded by the Learning and Skills Council which means that the courses are normally free of charge to anyone who:

• Is over the age of 16
• Currently lives in England
• Has been ordinarily resident in the EU/UK for three years or more, as long as this residency has been for purposes other than full-time study.

If you meet these criteria, you can usually study for free.

You’ll also receive help from an online tutor employed by a college in your local area; once you have logged on to your study area, you can contact your tutor by using V-mail, vision2Learn’s own internal messaging system.

Open University

Run by the Open University, OpenLearn is a free online learning site which uses materials taken from Open University courses, at both undergraduate and graduate level – and you don’t have to be or become an Open University student to access it.

These materials do not count towards an Open University qualification, but are pretty useful if you want to supplement your current learning or if you just want to get a flavour of what the OU has on offer.

You do not have to register, but doing so will allow you to tailor your learning to your needs. Courses covered include the arts, history, business, languages, IT and science.

University Lecture Podcasts

Not many of us can attend (or afford to attend) lectures at prestigious universities. The good news, however, is that many of them are now broadcasting their lectures as podcasts and mp3 recordings and allowing anyone to download and listen to them for free.

These universities use something called OpenCourseWare (OCW) to allow access to lectures and learning materials to anyone with an internet connection.

You can view the institutions that participate in this initiative here, and view the lectures grouped by subject area here.

There are no course credits provided and you won’t be able to ask any questions but it’s still a great way to expand your knowledge in your chosen field or supplement your existing course. The courses cover both undergraduate and graduate level.

So, now you can hear what professors at Oxford, Harvard and Yale have to say about everything from political philosophy to genetics and all for free.

Best of the Rest

To do free online computer courses in Word, Excel, Powerpoint and web design, try Home and Learn. This site offers free online tuition and you can register to take online tests – if you pass they even send you a framed certificate.

IT website Beginners charges for most of its courses and course materials, but helpfully they also have links to many free online IT tutorials. These range from Microsoft Word to Java programming.

Their ‘free tutorials page’ allows you to enter your chosen IT topic in the box marked ‘Search Our Other Tutorials’ and click the ‘Search’ button. The results will display lots of links at the bottom of the page to free online tutorials.

Finally, the Email College offers access to over 200 free online courses covering business, personal development, information skills, health and writing.

Happy learning!

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