The coronavirus crisis that has been raging for more than a year now highlighted not only the need for families to stay healthy and united, but also for members to possess life skills to help them overcome the burdens of such a troubling situation.
These life skills are not learned overnight; instead, they are taught and absorbed over a course of months, even years. And with the ongoing suspension of face-to-face classes, as well as the flexible learning modalities in Australia’s schools, teenage students find that they have plenty of spare time to either waste doing mundane things or put to good use by learning new skills.
If you happen to belong to the latter category, then here are five practical courses you should consider right now to help improve your life skills:
Carpentry
Carpentry is easily among the oldest of occupations and one of the most practical of all skills anyone could learn. It’s so old an occupation that even Jesus, his father Joseph, and his brothers were mentioned in the Bible as practicing carpentry as a trade.
Now, if you want to learn such a time-honored skill and put it to good use soon, you should enroll in a school that offers carpentry trade skills training for students like you. Expect to learn basic and advanced carpentry skills such as the installation of flooring and walls, windows, and doors, as well as the construction of eaves, trusses, and roofing.
These skills training require apprenticeship that would eventually lead to a National Certificate that you could use to apply for a job in construction and home improvement companies. You can also choose to become a subcontractor or open your firm specializing in commercial and residential projects.
Baking/cooking
We all eat each day, whether it’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks. And these meals require food, of course.
With such a basic daily need, it’s no small wonder why baking and cooking lessons (collectively called culinary arts) are among the all-time favorite practical courses of a lot of people. And they’re also among the top practical courses that you should consider getting.
The beauty of such courses is just how practical are the skills you’ll learn from them. You could use your cooking skills to prepare great food for your family or you can use them to start your own business. Of course, there’s always the option to seek employment in hotels, restaurants, and other business establishments that need skilled kitchen hands.
Financial management
Anyone can earn a ton of money with some skills or luck (or both) but not everyone can spend money in the wisest ways possible. This is why there are training institutions that provide financial management courses to interested individuals who wish to learn how to properly handle finances.
Such courses include lessons on managing income, making wise financial investments, taking care of debts, and other money-related skills that have practical uses and benefits.
If you’re good enough, you can take higher education and earn the required certifications to practice as a financial consultant for companies and private individuals who need advice and assistance with their finance-related concerns.
Secretarial/administrative
Filing documents, confirming appointments, writing emails, drafting memoranda, and doing other secretarial and administrative tasks may look robotic or mundane to some people, but they are actually among the most practical skills anyone could learn.
The fact that practically every company has an office and thus needs someone skilled enough to handle office-based tasks means that you’ll have plenty of actual employment opportunities should you decide to use your skills in the future.
Aside from landing a possible job, these skills could also come in handy when you’re pursuing higher education and you need to work on school projects. If you’ll seek memberships in school organizations, the skills you learned in such courses will likewise be extremely helpful.
Vehicle repair/maintenance
Just like carpentry and cooking, vehicle repair and maintenance are also highly practical courses that anyone should try their hands on.
Whether you intend to become a licensed vehicle mechanic or you just want to learn some skills in troubleshooting vehicle problems for your family’s car or your future ride, such courses will surely lend themselves worthwhile in one way or another.
If you frequently travel, your skills as a vehicle mechanic will come into play if your family vehicle or that of someone on the road suddenly experiences trouble that would force it to stop. If it happens in the middle of nowhere, then your skills could become a lifesaver.
With these practical courses and the life skills they bring, you will surely become a well-rounded person who’s skilled at something that not everyone is good at.
