Skillshare is a community-based online learning program that encourages leading industry figures to share their expertise and knowledge in the form of bite-sized lessons that are easy to explore at the student’s leisure. These are done with multimedia “classes” that tackle a specific topic. Rather than setting exams and tests, students skills are put to the test with different projects that create a challenge and are designed to inspire and motivate rather than pushing rote learning and memorisation.

There is a huge range of subjects, with a focus on the practical side of things – in short, skills. The intended outcome is for students to gain usable skills that will help them in the real world, or to be able to do something that seemed like a mystery of the industry before now. Popular subjects include fashion design, branding and film and each one has a range of different lessons – it’s not designed to be a complete course from beginning to end, but rather to allow students to pick the specific areas that they find interesting. This way you’re never forced to learn something you don’t want to, and can maximise your time.

The experts come from a diverse range of backgrounds, and have all proven themselves in their particular industry. From top individuals in a field to entire studios or design houses, they use the skills they’re teaching every day and know they work. You can also browse by software rather than by subject, looking up specific lessons for Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Excel and others.

Skillshare operates on a subscription system at USD$9.95 per month, and this gives you full access to all the different videos and lessons which you can then begin at any pace you like. You can also purchase individual courses for set one-off prices if there’s only one or two you’re really interested in. It’s designed to offer complete autonomy to the student, and is very self-motivated and self-directed. Their manifesto is providing universal access to real-world skills, and all you need is a computer to access the expertise of experts from all over the world.

If you’re looking to add new skills to your CV or seek inspiration to push yourself further with the skills you already have, Skillshare is a great online learning course option.