In the business world, success depends on the particular skills you bring to the table. Maybe your skillset could use a refresh?
Some skills are tried-and-true and remain the same over time. Others require you to have your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the business world today.
Read on to find out about three must-have business skills you need to stand out in the modern workplace — business writing, data analysis and project management — and how learning through UW Professional & Continuing Education can help you stay on the leading edge of your field.
1. Business Writing
As technologies come and go, one evergreen skill remains very important: writing. Business professionals need to be competent across myriad forms of communication: emails, proposals, presentations, social media and more.
Being able to write cleanly, persuasively and with flair is a key skill in any organizational role. The UW’s Business Writing: Reports, Proposals & Documents course is designed to help you hone your writing chops, with a special emphasis on long-form writing.
In this course, you'll learn how to write effective documents that are clear and concise. You'll explore different kinds of business writing and focus on the importance of structure and of putting your audience at the center.
Drawing on reader science, you’ll learn to make your documents intuitive and readable without simplifying your ideas or losing pertinent details. The course supplies you with plenty of practice writing different types of documents and incorporating feedback from your instructor and peers.
- Format: Online Synchronous
- Duration: 7 weeks
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2. Data Analysis
Business today is inescapably data driven. As voluminous data piles up, businesses of all shapes and sizes need employees who can harness and analyze the numbers.
Now more than ever, understanding how to analyze data is a vital skill for just about any profession. According to LinkedIn, data analytics ranks sixth among the most in-demand business skills of 2024 — higher than frequently touted skills such as teamwork or problem-solving.
The UW’s Foundations of Data Analysis course is designed to help you stay up-to-date on the latest data-analysis tools and trends. In just 10 weeks, you'll learn how to understand, analyze and present data. You'll start with a broad overview of the data analysis process, and then you'll develop your abilities with fundamental data analysis skills.
You’ll learn to acquire and clean data using SQL and Excel and analyze data using key statistical concepts. You’ll also discover how to choose the best visualization for your data and practice designing effective visualizations using Tableau.
You can take this course on its own or use it as a springboard for the more advanced UW Certificate in Data Analytics: Techniques for Decision Making. If you'd like to focus on creating visualizations for your data, consider the Data Visualization Essentials With Power BI course or the UW Certificate in Data Visualization With Tableau.
- Format: Online Synchronous or Online Asynchronous
- Duration: 10 weeks
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3. Project Management
Project management is one of the most versatile skills in the business world, and a solid understanding of the practice can reap huge career dividends. Training in project management helps you gain effective teamwork skills, including collaboration, communication and dealing with conflict — all vital tools you can bring to any business.
The UW’s Foundations of Project Management course will help you add this essential discipline to your repertoire. You’ll start with the basics of business vocabulary and the different aspects of working in a professional environment. From there, you’ll learn the importance of project management and how it fits into business practice.
The course covers best practices for balancing priorities and making decisions within business constraints. Finally, you’ll get practice reviewing business cases and data to draw conclusions and create actionable plans.
You can take the course on its own, or you can use it to prepare for the UW Certificate in Project Management.
- Format: Online Synchronous
- Duration: 4 weeks
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Keep Learning
For more courses, certificates and specializations designed for business professionals, check out all of our Business & Leadership offerings, including these new programs: