Free online courses with certificates
Genuinely free online courses with certificates, coding, design, marketing, AI, languages, picked for 16–24 year olds. Add them to your CV, then apply for the apprenticeships they unlock.
Free courses in England and
Every course listed above is available to learners in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. If you are looking for free courses UK-wide, including free courses in England specifically, the providers below are registered with UK education bodies and issue certificates recognised by employers and apprenticeship schemes here.
Picked-for-you courses
Each course is fully free and finishes with something you can show on a CV, a project, a badge or a certificate.
Intro to Coding (Python)
freeCodeCamp
~30 hrs
The Web Developer Bootcamp
The Odin Project
Self-paced
Maths & Statistics
Khan Academy
Self-paced
Graphic Design Basics
Canva Design School
~15 hrs
Digital Marketing Fundamentals
Google Digital Garage
~40 hrs
CV Writing & Job Search
National Careers Service
~5 hrs
Languages (Spanish, French, more)
Duolingo
Daily, self-paced
Intro to AI
Elements of AI (Helsinki Uni)
~30 hrs
Project Management Essentials
Open University OpenLearn
~8 hrs
FAQs
- Are there genuinely free online courses for young people?
- Yes, providers like freeCodeCamp, The Odin Project, Khan Academy, Google Digital Garage, Open University OpenLearn, the National Careers Service and the BBC offer fully-free courses with no paywalls. Some (Coursera, edX) let you audit content for free and only charge for the certificate.
- Do free courses count on a CV or UCAS application?
- Absolutely, if you can show what you learned and link to a project, certificate or portfolio. A finished freeCodeCamp project or Google Digital Garage certificate is concrete evidence, much stronger than a vague claim of "interested in tech".
- Which free course is best for getting a job?
- Pick one that maps to a real role: coding for tech apprenticeships, digital marketing for agency/SME roles, CAD or CNC for engineering apprenticeships, accounting basics (AAT Level 1 is free in some areas) for finance. Take the Shine quiz first to see which careers fit you.
- How long do free online courses take?
- Anywhere from 1 hour to 100+. A typical Google Digital Garage course is ~40 hours. Stick to one course at a time, a finished short course beats three abandoned long ones.
- Can I get a recognised qualification for free?
- Some yes, National Careers Service signposts free Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications via the Multiply (numeracy), Skills Bootcamps, and Free Courses for Jobs programmes, depending on age and location. The Open University also offers free "Badged Open Courses".
- What's the best free course for someone who doesn't know what they want to do?
- Start with the National Careers Service skills assessment or Shine's free 15-minute career quiz. From there, pick one short course in a field you're curious about, you'll learn faster about yourself by trying things than by reading career articles.
Pick the right course in 15 minutes
The free Shine quiz suggests courses linked to careers that fit your strengths.
What free online courses can a 16 to 24 year old do in the UK?
Free courses open to UK 16 to 24 year olds cover coding, data, design, marketing, AI, business and languages, from providers such as the Open University's OpenLearn, freeCodeCamp, Google and the National Careers Service. Many issue a certificate you can add to a CV, and adults without a full Level 3 can access free qualifications.
Last reviewed by the Shine careers team.
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