Today, the job market is changing rapidly. Unlike in the past, today employers are more interested in the skills that you can offer them rather than your degree/diploma course.
The good news is that most of these skill-based courses are short-term courses that take anywhere between 3 months and 1 year to complete.
To this end, in this post, I will be telling you about some of the best 6 months certificate courses that you can pursue in Kenya.
Best 6 months certificate courses in Kenya
Just so you know, these courses are not only in demand, but they also pay pretty well.
Certificate in Digital Marketing
I’m sure you might have come across a dozen or more adverts for digital marketing or social media manager positions.
You see, today almost everything is been done online including business transactions.
And as such, businesses are discovering that to survive, they also need to be online.
In turn, this has greatly driven the demand for competent digital marketers.
The course equips you with the necessary skills to promote businesses on various online platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Google search results among others.
Now, when choosing an institution to learn digital marketing, I greatly recommend that you first look at their course curriculum.
This is because some curriculums are not fully comprehensive. As such, they might not equip you with all the necessary skills you need to become a good digital marketer.
To point you in the right direction, you can read our previous guide where we look at various digital marketing curriculums in several Kenyan colleges here.
Certificate in Software Engineering
This course primarily teaches you how to create and manage different applications such as mobile apps, websites, and desktop apps.
The demand for good software engineers is fueled by the recent boom in technology. Remember, today, almost every aspect of our lives is been digitalized.
At Kenya Online College, we offer a very comprehensive software engineering course – you can learn more about it here.
The good part about it is that our course is fully practical to make sure that by the time you graduate, you have all the necessary hands-on skills that employers are looking for.
Not to mention that we link up our best candidates with employers looking for fresh talent – see some of our success stories.
Certificate in Human resource management (HRM)
Basically, a certificate in HRM equips you with the necessary skills to hire and manage employees in an organization.
Usually, the course is offered in three modules with each module taking six months to complete.
Unlike most other business courses, human resource professionals are still in demand across various sectors.
To qualify for a Certificate in Human Resource Management, you only need a minimum grade of D plain in KCSE.
Possible career paths: HR manager, recruitment specialist, HR Assistant, records clerk, compliance officer, talent acquisition manager etc.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, you can read our HRM career guide to see if you’re a good fit.
Certificate in Data Analytics
Today, the world is been run by data-driven solutions. And, this has led to a big demand for qualified data analysts.
Just so you know, this can be a good course for you if you have a strong background in a mathematics or economics-related course.
With the course, you can land a job in various sectors as a data analyst, research analyst, business analyst, marketing analyst, or financial analyst.
Furthermore, you can also get to freelance your skills – there is no shortage of freelance data analysis jobs with some paying as much as $300+ per project.
Certificate in Data Science
If you have a strong background in a mathematics-related course, pursuing this certificate course can greatly improve your marketability.
This is because the course involves a lot of statistical analysis and data manipulation techniques to understand the data.
Basically, the course entails using computer algorithms to extract trends and patterns from large unstructured data sets.
If you study the course, you will learn programming languages such as Python, R and database query languages like SQL.
As such, before pursuing the course, it’s good to make sure you have basic IT skills.
Once you complete the course, you can land a well-paying job both locally and remotely.
Possible career paths: Data scientist, data architect, data engineer, database administrator, data manager, or business intelligence analyst.
Certificate in Machine Learning and Certificate in Artificial Intelligence
These short-term certificate courses are a good choice for you if you have a strong background in mathematics or IT-related courses.
Typically, a Certificate in Machine Learning (ML) will help you understand algorithms and statistical models that help computers perform tasks without explicit instructions.
This will help you build and deploy various ML models such as supervised and unsupervised learning models.
On the other hand, an AI certificate involves training computers to replicate human-like intelligence.
Having said that, AI courses are broader than ML courses.
You see, an AI course covers the following: machine learning, neural networks, natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics among others.
So, if you are not yet sure which career path to follow, it will be best to pursue the AI course and specialize later on.
Again, at Kenya Online College, we offer a comprehensive AI course that will help kickstart your future – learn more here: AI Course in Kenya curriculum.
Certified Nursing Assistant / Healthcare Assistant Certificate / Certificate in Caregiving
This is another pretty good 6 months course that you can pursue in Kenya.
Basically, the course teaches you how to take care of the elderly or sick people who are not fully independent.
As such, it can be a good certificate course for you, if you have a caring and empathetic heart.
But the big question is, how marketable is it and where can you get employed?
First of all, you can be employed in hospices, nursing homes, or by individuals to take care of their sick relatives.
But truth be told, Kenya is still a developing country and as such, we normally tend to take care of our sick relatives on our own rather than hiring a professional caregiver.
Nonetheless, the course is pretty marketable in developed countries such as the US, UK, Australia, Canada etc.
In other words, this can be a good course for you if you are looking to work abroad in one of these developed countries.
All you need to qualify for this course is at least a D plain in KCSE.
You can read our caregiving career guide to learn more about the course.
Professional Cyber Security courses
Just so you know, cybersecurity primarily involves protecting computer systems from hackers and computer malware.
Today, almost every sector of our lives has been digitalized from banking to shopping to entertainment.
In turn, this has led to an increase in cybercrimes which has also led to the demand for cybersecurity professionals.
Now, while most cybersecurity professionals pursued 4-year degree courses to reach where they are, today you can take specialized short-term cybersecurity courses and still find employment.
The only catch with these courses is that you will get to specialize in one area of cybersecurity considering how wide the cybersecurity field is.
For the most part, these short courses are usually examined by Cisco (and taught in Cisco-accredited institutions).
Some of these courses include Network Security, IoT Security, and Cisco CyberOps Associate certificate.
The only requirement for these courses is a solid foundation in ICT.
You can learn more about them here: Cybersecurity short courses in Kenya.
Parting words on 6 months certificate courses in Kenya
Let’s be honest, finding a job in Kenya is not as easy as it used to be.
But at Kenya Online College, we do not believe it should be that hard if you have the right skills.
That’s why, we have partnered with various companies that are looking for fresh talent… We normally refer our students to these organizations once an opportunity arises.
You can read some success stories for past students here.
Now, to maintain this relationship, we offer limited slots for our courses… In some programs such as Videography, we admit as little as 20 students per cohort.
As such, the earlier you book your slot the more you increase your chances of qualifying for the next intake.
You can call/WhatsApp our admissions office on 0797 532 345.
MORE FROM OUR BLOG:
6 months diploma courses in Kenya
Marketable short courses in Kenya
Most marketable courses in Kenya
Patrick is a digital marketer and web designer by profession but on the side, he talks about how to use skills to make money online. He studied Applied Statistics at the university. He’s also an avid reader and digital skills trainer. Have any questions? Connect with him on LinkedIn.