New you, new career? 5 powerhouse skills to learn now via Virgin Red

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Anna Brech
by Anna Brech
3 January 2022

The pandemic has sparked a movement dubbed “the Great Resignation”, with a quarter of Brits looking to change careers

For some, this change is about taking advantage of new opportunities in remote working. Digital nomads, for example, are firmly on the rise while other people have been spending the past 18 months rethinking their life goals. 

Before you jump ship from one career to another, however, you may want to dip your toe in the waters by trying out a new skill and seeing which areas spark your interest. Our friends at Virgin Experience Days can help, thanks to hundreds of online courses they offer with organisations such as The New Skills Academy

Better still, as a member of Virgin Red, the new rewards club from Virgin, you can get a place on any of these courses using your Virgin Points. Whether you fancy launching your own business, or simply want to spruce up your CV, here are five great ideas to get you started with a change of direction in your career. . 


Take a diploma in fitness and anatomy

Virgin Experience Days’ CPD-certified course spans 32 modules. From muscle group names and functions to nutritional insight and performance science, you’ll get 15 hours of fitness learning in the mix, with a diploma to show for it once you’ve finished. 

With the global wellness economy booming right now, this could be a taster of a career in personal training. The value of the physical activity sector alone is set to pass $1.1 trillion by 2023, with plenty of interesting crossover areas, such as yoga, on the rise. Meanwhile, Covid has created a fresh interest in fitness as a means to strengthen the immune system. All good news for the coach you could be in your next chapter of life. 

Available via a Virgin Red voucher for Virgin Experience Days’ At Home Collection for 6,250 points.


Book on a Photoshop training course

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If you’re thinking of starting your own business, online may be your first port of call. Consumption of online content was higher than ever under lockdown, with e-commerce alone up by 40%. Research has shown that great photos are key to converting online customers, creating an emotional reason to buy that drives forward purchase decisions. 

Virgin Experience Days’ training course will teach you all the basics of Photoshop, as one of the design world’s most powerful softwares. A certified Adobe instructor will guide you through a full day of online interactive training, to supersize your digital skillset. That online business dream of yours just moved one step closer.

Available via a Virgin Red voucher for Virgin Experience Days’ At Home Collection for 6,250 points.


Learn all about stress-busting mindfulness 

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Shutterstock

Wherever you are in your career, you’ll benefit from this 10-hour New Skills Academy course, teaching you the impact of emotions on the body. Learning all about mindfulness, and how to use it to reduce stress, means you can build a coping toolkit for life. 

It’s also worth noting that interest in mindfulness meditation is on the rise, along with a spike in demand for mindfulness apps. So this course could also be your inspiration for further training, and a career as a mindfulness teacher. 

Available via a Virgin Red voucher for Virgin Experience Days’ At Home Collection for 6,250 points.


Get to grips with latte art 

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Shutterstock

We’ve already seen that digital nomadism is on the rise, as young people in particular are swapping their kitchen tables for life in the tropical sunshine. However it’s not just office-based work that travels well – barista skills may also get you a passport to foreign climes

Learn all about latte art with this dreamy-sounding class from the Winchester School of Coffee, taking you inside the world of microfoam techniques and steaming perfection. 

One in a series of barista courses run by the academy, it may also be your springboard into setting up your own coffee shop. In the UK, we now consume around 95 million cups of coffee per day, with 80% of people who visit coffee shops doing so at least once a week. That’s a whole load of customers to match beautiful lattes with.

Available via a voucher for Virgin Experience Days’ Indigo Collection for 13,000 points.


Find out how to habla español 

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Shutterstock

Counting 460 million native speakers worldwide, Spanish is one of the planet’s most popular languages. Learn all the basics of español conversation with this two-part qualification from Virgin Experience Days and the New Skills Academy.

You’ll find out how to say “media litro de vino rosado por favor” in time for your next Ibizan holiday. But more importantly, you’ll unlock doors to the world at large. With remote working here to stay, trends firm McKinsey predicts that 20 percent of us could now work from anywhere, as effectively as being in the office, up to five days a week. No surprises, then, that digital nomads are enjoying boom time.

By beginning on the road to Spanish fluency, you’re also carving a path to a new life somewhere hot. Where, you ask? From Córdoba to Buenos Aires, from Costa Rica to Panama, you can take your globe-trotting pick. 

Available via Virgin Experience Days at Virgin Red for 6,250 points.

To discover more brilliant courses, along with other rewards and earning opportunities, visit Virgin Red, the new rewards club from Virgin, and sign up or login here