Are you looking for a virtual assistant training program? Whether you’re here to get an assistant enrolled or are a freelancer looking to upskill, these are for you! We’ve handpicked them from a multitude of online courses that are available today. We think they’re excellent. And we know that the right one for your needs is going to be a game-changer for your business!
1. The SavvySystem
The SavvySystem is the virtual assistant training program from The Virtual Savvy, a blog run by a freelancer. She was a mom who wanted to work from home – like many out there today! Her program teaches others how to take the steps that led her to success. Of course, that’s without making all of the same mistakes in the process. Abbey Ashley’s signature, step-by-step blueprint helps people launch and grow their own at-home businesses. The formula promises to produce profitable businesses, from scratch. She also offers a lot of free information on the blog itself.
2. Udemy
The Udemy platform currently offers 210,000+ online video courses. They add new ones every month, and many of them focus around technical skills. These include web development, data science, Amazon AWS, and design. They also have some material around personal development and the arts, though. Udemy is a trusted name is online education. They’re well-known as the place to go to upskill your teams.
3. Coursera
The Coursera website is home to over 7,000 courses from over 300 leading universities and companies. You can get started for as low as $1 and dive into offerings from Yale, Duke, Stanford, Google, Microsoft, IBM, and more. They also boast of being able to get course-takers launched into new careers in as few as 6 months.
You can earn qualifications in a variety of areas that are perfect for online work. These include project management, business, sales, digital marketing, data science and analytics, UX design, bookkeeping, front-end development, and so many more. This platform has so much to offer, from free short courses to degree programs.
4. Fully Booked VA
This set of resources claims to “fast-track your virtual assistant business.” They’re free, and they aim to help people start a VA business. The starter pack includes lists of services to offer, which can come in handy. What we love best is the skills inventory process. This helps VAs pinpoint the valuable skills and abilities that they have and might not know about. The rest can serve as inspiration – after all, we can always learn new skills! That’s what virtual assistant training programs are all about, after all. The self-assessment workbook is an amazing supplement to this. It can guide VAs and clients to match virtual assistants with the right tasks based on what they’re already good at.
5. 90 Day VA
This hub boasts that with them, you can “learn the most in-demand skills to work from anywhere.” Moreover, you’ll be “on flex time without being chained to a desk or your phone all day.” That’s quite a claim! Of course, this is what being a freelancer is all about – we are just so impressed that they can teach people to get there within 90 days!
We love that they make the key distinction between the usual remote jobs and what you need to do to really experience freedom. Hundreds of millions of businesses need help on a variety of tasks. And not all of them require you to be tied to your desk in a super quiet environment with zero interruptions… Might as well work at an office!
Real freedom comes with work you can do anywhere you can access the internet, taking breaks when you need to. This course helps you target work so you’re not scraping by on minimum wage while paying your own internet and power bills to boot!
6. Skillshare
Skillshare is sort of like the flip side of Udemy. They are reliable, don’t get me wrong! It’s that they focus more on the creative side and lifestyle skills, but have some technical courses, too. What we love about Skillshare is how they are consciously building a global community of creatives. Once you are in, you can connect with groups within the over 600,000-strong enrolled students.
You can get started for free and see if it works for you. If you have teams to train, Skillshare is already set up to handle groups. They even offer soft skills classes, which is rare!
7. Virtual Excellence Academy
Enrollment for the business building program is closed for 2023, but you can join the 2024 waitlist! This virtual assistant training program aims at equipping next-level online service providers. If you or your team is ready to make a big impact on the business world, this course is for you. It works for all VAs, from beginners in the online space to freelancers who want to reach higher heights. The goal of the business building course is to give you the footing you need to establish long-term success. You choose your work to live the lifestyle you want.
Teh Virtual; Excellence Academy has a support community, too, called The Inner Circle. This is where members can collaborate and learn together, creating connections for fin and business.
8. LinkedIn Learning
Millions of people are currently taking advantage of LinkedIn Learning, formerly Linda.com. This platform is famous for business networking, so what better place to go to upskill? You can find a ton of in-demand skills here – they should know best what the latest and greatest are! They have accumulated over 20,000 online courses, too, from real-world professionals. The first month is free, so you can test it out, and you can cancel at any time.
9. HubSpot Academy
HubSpot began as a customer platform. From their original CRM, they grew into a marketplace for remote workers. They offered tools like time tracking software, and even built a platform for hiring remote VAs. Today, you can enroll in a free virtual assistant training program under the same umbrella.
HubSpot Academy offers not only free but unlimited access to their courses. They cover hundreds of topics, and all you need to do is sign up. You can jump into short, practical courses or dig into deeper, more comprehensive certifications. The platform focuses on the most sought-after business skills, so you can’t go wrong here. Because of their connections in the business realm, they can point you to the hottest business topics. Like LinkedIn Learning, you get updated on the latest trends in sales, digital marketing, lead generation, customer support, and more.
As you complete certifications to earn badges, you can share these industry-recognized marks to your LinkedIn profile. When companies see them, they’ll know you’re for real because HubSpot awards globally-recognized certifications.
10. Domestika
Domestika offers online courses for creative professionals. They are, after all, the largest online community for creatives. Although the word “creatives” usually triggers thoughts of arts and crafts, that’s not all they offer. Creatives like copywriters and marketers can benefit from a lot of content that goes into deep specifics.
For instance, you can learn about editorial design, design management, digital lettering, communication, film photography, concept art, creating comics, and so much more. Domestika also has a blog where you can learn a lot of stuff free of charge. If you sign up to be a Plus member, you can get some courses for free.
11. Fiverr Learn
As a gig marketplace, Fiverr is in a great position to know what skills are the most in-demand. This opportunity gave rise to Fiverr Learn, where you can take on-demand professional courses. The website boldly states that all these are “led by the world’s top experts.” How can you go wrong? It looks like any gig work you can do from a laptop with an internet connection, you can learn to do here.
These short courses are great for gaining knowledge and skills, even with a busy schedule. You can take a 2-hour course or sign up for 10 hours or more of learning. Because you’re learning from experts, you are sure to get proven and practical skills and processes that you can apply to your work right away.
12. Google Skillshop & Cloud Skills Boost
Google Cloud Skills Boost offers learning paths for skill-building. If you already have the skills, you can join for knowledge and skills validation. The Generative AI learning path is free of cost and includes 10 courses to teach you all the basics that you need. Everything is taught by Google Cloud experts, so you are getting it straight from the best. You can join other paths as well, which Google calls “guided journeys.” You will navigate learning activities to gain new skills for career growth.
Paths include Duet AI in Google Workspace, Network Engineer, IT Heroes Summit, Data Analyst, Google Workspace Administrator, BI and Analytics with Looker, DevSecOps, Public Sector, and more. You can also get into profession-specific paths like Cloud Architect and Google Cloud Infrastructure for Apigee, Azure and AWS. The full catalog of Google Cloud authored content is only available after purchasing a subscription.
What Is Outsource School?
Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.
This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.
Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.
Schedule a free sales call to learn more
Free resources you might like:
- Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
- Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
- Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
- Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists
Conclusion
Getting certifications is not necessary. They are helpful, though, on both the freelancer and business owner sides. If you are going to learn a VA skill, you might as well be able to prove it. This makes it easier for potential clients to see what you can do. If you are a business owner and you want a hire to learn more, short courses are a great option. You can pay for the virtual assistant training programs yourself.
Alternatively, you can give incentives for them to earn certifications, like a raise when they complete a course and start applying what they’ve learned. If you request or require a skill upgrade, however, more of the burden should fall on you. If a VA suggests upskilling to help your business, you can evaluate and see if you should shoulder the costs.
