What’s trending in learning? Technical business skills July 2024

Companies that prioritize the development of technical business skills such as data analysis, programming, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and software development are better positioned to drive organizational success and foster innovation. These skills are essential for transforming data into actionable insights, creating robust software solutions, protecting against sophisticated threats, enhancing operational efficiency, and developing cutting-edge applications.

By investing in these technical skills, organizations can stay competitive, adapt to market changes, and lead in their industries. It's clear that focusing on technical business skills isn't just about employee development; it's a strategic imperative for driving innovation and maintaining a competitive edge.

Topic spotlight: Technical business skills

Here are five expert-recommended courses available on Go1 to help your organization train employees on technical business skills:

1. The Data Analysis Workshop by Packt (20 hrs 52 mins) 

Businesses today operate online and generate data almost continuously. While not all data in its raw form may seem useful, if processed and analyzed correctly, it can provide you with valuable hidden insights. The Data Analysis Workshop will help you learn how to discover these hidden patterns in your data, analyze them, and leverage the results to help transform your business.

The book begins by taking you through the use case of a bike rental shop. You'll be shown how to correlate data, plot histograms, and analyze temporal features. As you progress, you'll learn how to plot data for a hydraulic system using the Seaborn and Matplotlib libraries, and explore a variety of use cases that show you how to join and merge databases, prepare data for analysis, and handle imbalanced data.

By the end of the book, you'll have learned different data analysis techniques, including hypothesis testing, correlation, and null-value imputation, and will have become a confident data analyst.

2. Survey of Data Science by Stone River (8.5-hour training) 

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of data science, covering key concepts, essential tools, and diverse job roles available in the industry. Whether you're a beginner looking to explore the world of data or an experienced professional seeking to expand your skill set, this course offers a solid foundation for understanding the fundamental principles and practices of data science.

This course offers an overview of the activities and roles within the realm of data science. It begins by exploring the fundamental tasks of data exploration, analysis, and visualization, essential for deriving insights from data. Statistical distributions relevant to data science are introduced, followed by discussions on handling unstructured data and selecting appropriate data storage solutions. The course delves into advanced topics such as natural language processing and machine learning algorithms, including decision trees, regression, and neural networks.

Additionally, it covers the design and implementation of data pipelines, emphasizing both batch and real-time processing. The latter part of the course focuses on the diverse roles within a data science team, including Data Wrangler, Data Engineer, Quantitative Analyst, Machine Learning Engineer, Framework Administrator, and Business Analyst, each requiring specific skills and expertise. Through this comprehensive exploration, participants gain a nuanced understanding of the field and the opportunities it offers.

By the end of this course, participants will have gained a solid understanding of the core principles, tools, and roles in data science, empowering them to embark on a successful career journey in this rapidly evolving field.

3. Intro to Coding with Python by Zenva (55 mins) 

Learn the basics of coding with Python! All software — including games, apps, websites, and more — is essentially designed to follow instructions. We refer to these instructions as coding, and the order and rules that they follow as algorithms.

This course will explore these important concepts through Python Turtle. The Turtle library allows you to issue commands to a “turtle” and have the turtle follow them as if it were a pen drawing on paper. You can use it to draw various shapes, fill them in, change their colors, and more — all through easy-to-use programming commands. You’ll also learn how to structure these commands as an algorithm to create a digital picture of a solar system.

No matter what you want to use coding for, the skills you’ll learn will form strong foundations for any project that you’ll create.

4. Google Cloud Platform Associate Cloud Engineer Bootcamp by TechCommanders (10-hour bootcamp) 

An Associate Cloud Engineer deploys applications, monitors operations, and manages enterprise solutions. Cloud Engineers use Google Cloud Console and the command-line interface to perform common platform-based tasks to maintain one or more deployed solutions that leverage Google-managed or self-managed services on Google Cloud.

This course was specifically designed to provide a refresher of the topics of the GCP Associate Cloud Engineer Exam for experienced GCP engineers that need a reminder of the objectives before taking the exam. For more hands-on help, there are many additional courses on Go1 that can help you can up to speed before taking the exam.  

During this course, you'll gain insight into the GCP Cloud Engineer exam and walk through main exercises around managing a GCP Cloud. You'll walkthrough demos, reviewing content with the SME, providing you with the top ten things to remember before taking the exam. 

5. Azure Cloud Fundamentals by Cloudswyft (10-day course) 

This course provides foundational-level knowledge of cloud services and how those services are provided with Microsoft Azure. The course can be taken as an optional first step in learning about cloud services and Microsoft Azure, before taking further Microsoft Azure or Microsoft cloud services courses.

The course will cover general cloud computing concepts as well as general cloud computing models and services such as Public, Private, and Hybrid cloud and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

It'll also cover some core Azure services and solutions, as well as key Azure pillar services concerning security, privacy, compliance, and trust. It'll finish off with information on pricing and support services available with Azure.

New to the Go1 Library 

At Go1, we’re constantly growing our content library. From fresh content providers to returning favorites updating their offerings, here’s what’s new to Go1 in July.    

Outthink

This new Go1 Content Partner specializes in cybersecurity awareness content. They offer mostly bite-sized (5 mins) and some longer formats of 10-30 minutes. Just last month, they added new content on Data Privacy and Remote Work and Operational Security. Courses are available only in English at this time.

Channel 1 Creative Media

Channel 1 has simplified compliance and WH&S training by creating short, to-the-point and scenario-based videos. You can now discover a new series of courses on WH&S Induction, available in English.

SimonSez IT

New courses are available from SimonSez IT on three main topics: Microsoft Office and Productivity Tools, Excel and PivotTable Training, and Generative AI and Cybersecurity Awareness. At this time, these courses are only available in English.

Three content providers that we’re loving in July

Stone River eLearning

Stone River eLearning was founded in 2012, and since then has taught over 1,100,000 students. Stone River eLearning's focus is on developing high-quality video training in all areas of the technology field. Dozens of organizations use Stone River eLearning's content for corporate and government in-house training.

• Topic coverage: Technology, DevOps, Networking and Security, Programming and Web Development, Mobile App Development, Web Design and Development, IT Skills
• 5,100+ courses in Premium, ranging from 1 to 12,000 minutes in duration.
• Top courses: Installation - Python Programming for Beginners; Python Programming for Beginners; Print and Strings - Python Programming for Beginners; Math - Python Programming for Beginners; Strategic Planning Skills

Packt

Packt helps tech professionals put software to work by distilling and sharing the practical knowledge of their peers. As an established global provider of technical learning content with over twenty years of experience, Packt delivers premium, rich content from groundbreaking authors on a wide range of emerging and popular technologies.

With a multimedia portfolio that includes thousands of books, eBooks, audiobooks, and video courses, Packt's titles have global relevance. These resources are designed to equip IT professionals with actionable knowledge, enabling them to achieve their goals, whether by gaining expertise in emerging technologies or enhancing skills in established tools.

• Topic coverage: Technology, Programming & Coding, Cloud Computing, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity
• 5,000+ courses in Premium, some shorter videos to comprehensive courses. The catalog includes eBooks
• Top Courses: Introduction to Internet of Things; Data Visualization with Python: The Complete Guide; What is IoT?

TechCommanders

TechCommanders is an online training platform for aspiring and veteran IT professionals interested in next-generation IT skills. Courses offered are used to prepare students to take certification exams in Cloud, DevOps, IT Security, and Blockchain. Their expertise is in productivity increase and cost reduction driven by the adoption of technologies focused on cloud computing. By choosing TechCommanders, you're free to focus your resources on building your business rather than investing in and running IT infrastructure and support services.

• Topic coverage: Technology, DevOps, Networking & Security, Computer Science and Engineering, Programming and Web Development, Blockchain
• 70+ courses in Premium, ranging from 35 to 800 minutes in duration.
• Top courses: DevOps Fundamentals; DevOps on Google Cloud Platform; Kubernetes Fundamentals; Google Kubernetes Engine - The Basics; AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam CLF-C01 Crash Course 2021

As we wrap up this edition of "What's trending in learning," we hope the course recommendations and insights provided have inspired you to prioritize your team's upskilling on technical skills. And remember, Go1 is always here to support your team's development journey.

Stay tuned for next month's edition, where we'll continue to bring you the latest trends and resources in the world of L&D.

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