10 Great Free Online Courses for Executive Assistants

Share This Post

While an executive assistant might just sound like a fancy term for a secretary, there is actually much more to this position than meets the eye. Being an executive assistant is hard work, and there are any number of tasks you may be expected to execute, including project management, communication, or organization. Becoming an executive assistant requires you to always be on your toes and to know a little about a lot of different topics.

Whether you’re pursuing a job as an executive assistant or you want to improve upon your current skill set, the following ten free online courses for executive assistants can help. How? We use an exclusive methodology that helps us sift through scores of free online courses to bring you only the best.

Featured Program

Disclaimer: Some courses may include an affiliate link. Courses were chosen first based on the methodology with affiliate links only added after the ranking was complete.

While some of these offerings are specific to executive assistant training, others will help you with business administration or online organization, all things that are integral to this role. They are listed in descending order, with our top picks at the top, but each one of these free courses is worth looking into.

Featured Programs

Ranking 10 Free Online Courses for Executive Assistants

1. Office Administration Online Course

Offered by Oxford Home Study Centre

This course from Oxford Home Study Centre is perfect for those who want to take their business career to the next level. If you want to learn how to run your office and your executives more efficiently, or you want to climb the career ladder, taking this class will certainly give you a jumpstart. Oxford Home Study Centre is the UK’s leading provider for e-learning or distance learning classes, and they believe that their learning is uniquely friendly and individualized for each student. This course will take students around 20 hours to complete depending on their individual skills and there are no prerequisites or entry requirements.

By the end of the course, students will have covered 15 different office administration topics that include improving your skills in assertiveness, how to improve your communication skills, how to understand non-verbal messages, how to get ahead, and how to improve your writing skills. If you are proficient in these topics, it will certainly show your employer that you are ready to take on more challenges and perhaps even move up in the company.

Cost: Free

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Approximately 20 hours

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Offers an introduction to basic topics like writing and communication skills
No prerequisites or entry requirements

Cons:

No certificate of achievement

2. Business Foundations Specialization

Offered by Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania via Coursera

While this course is more focused on the foundations of business in general, it can still be incredibly useful for those wanting to start a career as a business administration professional. This class would be perfect for those who have recently taken a career in business administration and want to better understand the industry to communicate with their boss or coworkers. Coursera is a MOOC platform that offers both individual, short courses as well as longer specializations. Students can take any class at no charge in audit mode, or opt for the full experience and earn a certificate by purchasing the content.

By the end of the course, students will become literate in the language of business, even if they knew nothing about business prior to starting the course. There are five shorter courses within the overall specialization, and these focus on marketing, finance, accounting, and operations. At the end of the executive assistant training course, you will complete a final project which will display your skills by addressing a realistic business challenge.

Cost: Free (in audit mode)

Certificate: Yes, with a fee

Time to Complete: Approximately 7 months

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Longer specialization, delves into important topics more deeply
Become fully literate in business

Cons:

Takes a long time, cannot be completed passively

3. Administrative Professional Tips

Offered by LinkedIn Learning

This course, taught by April Stallworth, covers the basics of becoming an administrative professional, showing what a rewarding and challenging career it can be. This class is perfect for those who have already taken a role as an administrative professional, whether it’s as an executive assistant or otherwise. Stallworth gives students tips for staying in sync with their boss and their boss’s schedule, showing how they can become an invaluable asset to the company they work for simply by making everyone else’s lives easier.

LinkedIn Learning is an online platform connected to one of the web’s most widely-used professional social networks. The platform gives students access to thousands of courses for one flat subscription rate, although new users can get a free trial period of one month. Additionally, students currently enrolled in a participating college or university can often access LinkedIn Learning for free with their school login credentials. By the end of this free online course, students will be able to effectively gatekeep, manage projects, and navigate office politics with ease.

Cost: Free Try a free trial for Linkedin Learning.

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Approximately 3 hours

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Covers basics of assistant work (emails, phone calls, organization)
Helps students become an integral part of their company

Cons:

Certificate does not come with course

4. Executive Assistant Skills

Offered by Alison

This course by Alison is perfect if you are looking to take an executive assistant job but you aren’t really sure what will be expected of you on a daily basis. The course takes students through a variety of different modules to help familiarize them with the workspace and how to best handle workplace issues. Alison is a MOOC (massive open online course) platform that offers users a variety of free courses on many different subjects. After completing your course, Alison offers a certificate of achievement for purchase through their shop, but courses can also be completed without purchasing anything.

This executive assistant course takes between 1.5 and 3 hours to complete depending on personal skill level. Over 15,000 students have enrolled in the course thus far, many going on to take jobs in the executive assistant or business field. Modules that you will study in the course include effective time management, administration soft skills, being an effective gatekeeper, organizational skills, and confidentiality guidelines. By the end of this administrative assistant course with certificate, students will be able to describe how they can effectively manage their time in the office and also know how to use appropriate etiquette over the phone or on emails.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes (with purchase)

Time to Complete: Between 1.5 and 3 hours

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Covers basics of assistant work (emails, phone calls, organization)
Helps with time management skills

Cons:

Certificate requires purchase

5. Introduction to Administrative Professional Jobs

Offered by SkillShare

This course is a complete introduction to administrative professional careers, which can include jobs like administrative assistant, executive assistant, and program assistant. If you have ever wondered if these jobs would be a viable career for you to pursue, look no further than this course taught by Rosamaria Carrillo. SkillShare is an online learning platform that allows instructors to upload their own courses and users to access them for free. SkillShare also has a premium membership option that allows users access to premium courses and resources like certificates of achievement.

Of course, this class is perfect to take if you want to be an executive assistant, but it is also useful for those who want to freelance as a virtual assistant. By the end of the course, students will understand the field of administrative professionals, know why they can consider this field as a career, know what the role of administrative professionals is in the business world, and understand what kind of skills are required to hold these positions. Rosamaria Carillo graduated from UC Berkeley with a Masters in Social Welfare and is more than qualified to teach on the topic.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes (with premium membership)

Time to Complete: Approximately 1.5 hours

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Covers basics of assistant work (emails, phone calls, organization)
Helps students understand what skills are necessary for these jobs

Cons:

Certificate does not come free with course

Featured Programs

6. Administrative Support

Offered by Alison

In this course from Alison, students will learn how to become an important part of their office’s administrative support team. Alison courses are free to enroll in and study from, but additional resources such as a certificate of achievement have a fee attached. This course is offered by the Workforce Academy Partnership, which is a partnership that helps students get connected with courses related to topics like project management, business administration, and IT. They wish to be a turning point for positive social change, allowing students to learn any topic at any time for free.

By the end of this administrative support class, students will be familiar with the basics of concepts like organization, time management, resource management, and communication with their superiors. At the time of writing, this course has had more than 17,000 students, many of which are moving on to jobs as an executive assistant, secretary, or project manager. This course is described as a level 1 course, meaning you will not need any prerequisites to understand the material needed to complete the course. It’s great for students at all skill levels looking to begin their job search in the business administration field.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes (with purchase)

Time to Complete: Between 1.5 and 3 hours

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Learn important skills like organization and communication with your boss

Cons:

Certificate does not come free with course

7. Introduction to Project Management

Offered by Alison

Project management is one of the primary jobs of an administrative assistant, and can take up a lot of your time depending on the role of your boss. If you are going to become an executive assistant, it is best to become literate in project management as well. This course is offered on Alison by the Workforce Academy Partnership, which aims to connect students to courses and resources on business so they can learn anything they want for free. This course is longer than the other Alison courses mentioned on this list and is good for those who really want to focus on project management for their future career.

By the end of the free online course, students will have completed 11 modules on 35 different topics including teams & leadership, life cycles, project performance, effective budgets & schedules, and stakeholder management. The course will take students anywhere from 6 to 10 hours to complete and is followed by a course assessment that allows students to display their skills in a test-based assessment. If you think your boss will require you to know a lot about project management as their executive assistant, this course is perfect for you.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes (with purchase)

Time to Complete: Between 6 and 10 hours

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Specializes in project management, one aspect of business

Cons:

Certificate of achievement does not come free with the course
Does not go over basic aspects of business administration

8. Free Administrative Assistant Training

Offered by Office Dynamics International

Office Dynamics is one of the primary resources for business administration professionals looking to break into the field, as they offer an incredible amount of downloadable study materials for those looking to learn. While their platform is less of a structured course and more of a list of resources, it is great for those who don’t have the time to commit to a structured curriculum and need to work intermittently on their own time. Office Dynamics has been in operation since 1990 and has been offering online free training programs for business professionals since 2009.

One of their primary resources for business administration professionals are their free monthly webinars. While you have the opportunity to register for future webinars, you also have the option of watching recorded webinars if you weren’t able to make the live show. In addition, Office Dynamics offers a free content newsletter called Monday Motivators that gets delivered to your inbox every monday. Finally, Office Dynamics has a YouTube channel covering topics such as orchestrating multiple managers, training your manager, and complex calendar control.

Cost: Free

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Monthly offerings

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Pick and choose which specific topics you want to learn about
Live monthly webinars

Cons:

Not a structured curriculum
No certificate of achievement

9. Managing Public Money

Offered by Future Learn

While this course does not focus specifically on becoming an executive assistant, managing money is something you will often have to do in business, especially when working with executives. This course from Future Learn is relevant to any business administration professional as you will often have to do things like effectively manage money and demonstrate value. This course is provided by The Open University, which is the largest learning institution in the UK and has had over 1.8 million students since 1969.

There are over 8,000 students currently enrolled in this course, which teaches students how public sector finances are managed, and how you can apply this management to your own context. You’ll also find out where public funds come from and the basics of taxation. By the end of the course, students will learn different approaches to budgeting and be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, they will learn how to prevent fraud and corruption, something that is vital to understand if you work in business administration.

Cost: Free

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Approximately 4 weeks

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Focuses specifically on finances
Teaches you how to apply public finance knowledge to your life

Cons:

No certificate of achievement

10. Fundamentals of Operations Management

Offered by Alison

This is a shorter course offered by Alison and XSIQ that covers the basics of operations management. The main idea of this course is to explore the relationship and differences between operations, competitiveness, and productivity. This is a great course to pursue if you are going into an executive assistant role because operations management often involves tasks like scheduling, planning, and coordinating. There is an assessment and certification for a cost at the end of this course, meaning you will be able to publish your achievement directly to social networking sites like LinkedIn.

By the end of this free online course, students will be proficient in operations management strategies and how to apply those strategies to the company they work for. They will also know the characteristics and skills of an operations manager and know what it takes to become one. They will also understand techniques of inventory management and be able to list the nine key strategy areas. If you want to work as an assistant at a company that works more closely with products and inventory, this course is perfect for you.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes (with purchase)

Time to Complete: Between 1.5 and 3 hours

Curriculum: Beginner

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

Start anytime and go at your own pace
Covers topics like inventory management and coordinating

Cons:

Certificate of achievement is behind paywall

Frequently Asked Questions About Free Online Courses for Executive Assistants

If you are looking to become an executive assistant, you might be overwhelmed by all of the resources available to you. Becoming an executive assistant cannot be taught by a one-size-fits-all course because every company requires working with different executives, products, timelines, and skill sets. However, many of the courses listed above can help you with any issue you might face while breaking into the business administration industry. Taking a course for executive assistants could position you as an indispensable part of your company and help you climb the career ladder.

You probably have a lot of questions when it comes to what you should do with these online courses. Distance learning can be a challenge if you have never done it before, but hopefully the explanations in the following section will help to squash some of your worries surrounding online courses for executive assistants.

Who Should Take an Online Executive Assistant Course?

Even if you have not yet taken a job in the executive assistant field, having completed a course can help your resume stand out and make your application more appealing to a potential employer. If you are already an executive assistant, completing a course will likely impress your boss and could help you to climb the ladder of the company or the career ladder in general. Taking an online course for executive assistants will give you a more well-rounded view of the company you work for and help you to understand business, even if you did not pursue a business-related degree.

Students looking to go into business administration can benefit from any of these courses, even if they are not specifically focused on an executive assistant job. Many aspects of business administration can apply to other roles and positions, so you will certainly learn something you can apply to your life with every course you take.

Are Online Executive Assistant Courses Difficult?

Many of the skills you will learn in an online executive assistant course aren’t particularly hard to learn, instead they will ask you to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. Learning skills like assertiveness and gatekeeping certainly are not easy, but all they require is mental dedication and willingness to step outside of your usual, more passive role as an employee.

Working with executives requires you to have skills that you might not use in your everyday life, so they may feel uncomfortable or new. Pushing through those feelings are one of the things that will make you a great executive assistant!

What Will I Gain From an Online Executive Assistant Course?

By taking an online course for executive assistants, you will learn many analytical and tangible skills that you can use at your job. These include things like learning the basics of Microsoft Office, learning how to organize, learning how to effectively schedule and work around your boss’s schedule, and learning how to manage finances.

However, you will also learn personality and attitude skills that you can use at work that include things like assertiveness, learning when to say no, gatekeeping, and dealing with office politics. While these might not initially seem like skills you would need in an office setting, knowing how to manage people can be just as important as knowing how to manage analytical or scheduling issues.

Are Online Executive Assistant Courses Worth It?

Generally, taking a free online course is always worth it because you truly have nothing to lose. However, this is especially true of the courses on this list because they are all offered by premier learning websites and taught by instructors who are equally qualified and intelligent. Many of them are often incredibly responsive and helpful when their students have questions, and you could have the opportunity to engage with other students who are learning the same material. Typically, you would have to pay to access all of these outlets in a traditional classroom setting. With the courses on our list, you can get these resources at no cost.

Disclaimer: Some courses may include an affiliate link. Courses were chosen first based on the methodology with affiliate links only added after the ranking was complete.