Short courses for form four leavers

Gone are the days when the only course you could learn after form four was computer packages.

Today, there are many short courses that you can do once you complete high school.

Some of these courses can help you develop personally while others will help you develop professionally.

But if you ask me, the best short courses are those that you can monetize – you can use them to make money before, during, and after campus.

This can go a long way in helping you pay your fees and get upkeep!

That being so, in this post, I will tell you of some good short courses you can pursue as a form four leaver whether you want to develop yourself, get monetizable skills, or kill the free time you have.

Short courses for form for leavers – our top 10 choices

The courses below are a mixture of personal development, professional development, and monetizable courses.

So, if you are looking for courses to help you start your career or make some money before and when in campus, then you are in good hands.

Computer studies or ICDL (International Computer Driving License)

With the world becoming more and more digital, most jobs now require employees to have basic computer skills.

In addition, nowadays, most campus courses require you to have basic computer skills.

As such, the best time to acquire basic computer skills is after finishing high school.

ICDL (also known as International Certificate of Digital Literacy) is an internationally recognized qualification that demonstrates competence in using various computer applications.

Usually, computer studies and ICDL classes take between 1 and 3 months to complete.

Just so you know, these classes start from as little as ksh. 4,000 for the full course.

Bakery and pastry

If you are a foodie, or you’re good at cooking, I would greatly recommend this.

The good thing about this course is that you can use it to make money before going to college and when you’re in college.

For instance, you can be baking cakes for events such as birthdays (there are plenty of them in campus), baking cookies, and so on.

You can enroll for the course at your local bakery/confectionery shop.

Alternatively, you can check if your local TVET also offers short baking classes.

Usually, the course starts from as little as ksh. 5,000 and it takes anywhere between 1 and 3 months.

If you opt to take this route to monetize it later on, I recommend you also take yoghurt-making classes.

This is because yoghurt and confectionaries are complementing business ventures that can help you diversify.

Online/digital marketing

Digital marketing is an excellent course to pursue if you’re interested in knowing how to make money online.

If you are lucky, you can even land a full-time job as a digital marketer – there are many local and remote digital marketing jobs.

To learn more about the digital marketing course, read our other guide: Digital marketing short course in Kenya.

Usually, the course takes around three months to complete.

Photography and videography

I’m sure you have noticed the increase in content creators. Now, what do most of these creators have in common?

The answer is simple – most of their content is in photo/video format.

Now, if you enjoy taking photos and videos (even if it’s just from your phone), you should consider pursuing these courses.

In addition to shooting videos for content creators, you can also do photoshoots for students and ceremonies or land a remote/online job as a professional video editor.

There are many good schools that offer photography and videography courses in Kenya that you can choose from.

As for the fees, photography and videography courses range anywhere from ksh. 25,000 to 60,000 for the whole course.

And, it will take you anywhere between 1 and 3 months to complete depending on the institution.

CPA

If you intend to pursue a career in a business-related field such as finance, business management, accounting, and so on, then you should consider taking CPA.

This is because CPA provides you with knowledge of business processes such as accounting, auditing, tax laws, bookkeeping, and so on.

Having a CPA certificate will go a long way in increasing your marketability once you graduate.

If you opt to take this route, you can register for CPA with KASNEB or at any local institution that offers it.

The cost will start from as little as Ksh. 6,200 to upwards of ksh. 20,000 per level depending on where you register.

Graphic design

If the world comes alive for you in shapes, colors, and stories, I would highly advise you to take this course.

The good news about the course is that you can earn money creating and selling various graphics such as logos, posters, business cards, banners, flyers, and much more.

If you’re lucky enough, you can even land a full-time job in a local company as a graphic designer.

Yes, there are many local companies that are looking for graphic designers. And, the number increases by the day.

If this is something that entices you, we can help you get started with our comprehensive graphic design course.

Social media marketing

Do you love spending time and interacting with people on social media?

Yes? Then why aren’t you monetizing this?

With a social media marketing course, you can get gigs from businesses and individuals as a social media manager/marketer to promote their pages, products, and services on various social media platforms.

But to qualify for this, you need to first learn social media marketing at a reputable college.

The course will take around 1 to 3 months to complete depending on the institution you enroll at.

Driving

While driving might not sound that important, it’s another way you can keep yourself (or your child) busy after finishing form four.

But this does not mean there’s no upside to pursuing this short course.

For instance, if you have access to a vehicle, you can work as a part-time Uber driver – there are several other taxi apps you can try.

All-in-all, it’s a good way to make money especially during the evenings and on weekends.

Furthermore, having a driver’s license is an added advantage when applying for jobs that require moving a lot such as sales.

Usually, driving will cost you around ksh. 15,000 and the course will require around 3 months to complete.

Virtual assistant training

This short course is for you if you like helping entrepreneurs manage and run their businesses.

This is more so if you have a wide range of skills such as graphic design, video editing, social media management, basic accounting, and so on.

A virtual assistant is similar to a personal assistant only that he/she works online and he/she requires more skills.

The good thing about the course is that it can also help you make money online even after you join campus.

Just so you know, the course takes 3 months to complete.

While the course might sound new, there are some good local institutions that offer the course.

Blogging course

If you are a good storyteller or you’re good at something and you wish to share it with the world while making money from it, I would recommend you take a short course on blogging.

Love cooking? You can learn how to create and monetize a food blog…

Love travelling? With blogging, you can create and monetize a travel blog while sharing of your travel stories.

Like most of the courses in this list, blogging can help you earn some good money online – most serious Kenyan bloggers earn ksh. 50,000 – 200,000 per month from the comfort of their homes through blogs.

This is perhaps the shortest course on this list – learning blogging takes around 4 weeks to complete.

Our how to become a blogger course is among the best in the region – check it out here.