Private household staff – is it time to upskill?

While the private household job market has been slower than many of us would have liked over the past 12 months, when things do eventually return to the ‘new normal’, it will be important to stand out from the crowd. So, why not take advantage of the many reputable institutions providing short courses at heavily discounted rates (or, better yet, for free!)? If you’re looking for a private household job, read on for our guide on how to pick the right course.

Picking the right courses for private household staff

Pick something you enjoy

You’re much more likely to see the course through to completion and be inclined to utilise it in your job if it’s something that gives you a sense of purpose and/or pleasure. At Tiger Private, we register a myriad of amazing candidates every week and it’s those who talk about their experience or skills with palpable enthusiasm who stand out. They usually have areas of expertise that they use within their job which we can ‘sell in’ when putting them forward for a role.

How to find the right course

Whatever you’re interested in, a quick Google search will bring up a range of courses for private household staff. If you need any extra guidance, we’re also happy to point you in the right direction. The most important thing at the moment is to approach any learning with kindness to yourself. If you’re not feeling up to it, don’t force it! Keep scrolling until something pops up that piques your interest and pursue it.

Types of courses to look out for

There are a few free online courses that can really help when it comes to working in a private household. These could range from bookkeeping skills to help your family with their finances to wine courses to help buy for and stock and an impressive cellar. Some candidates have interior design or project management qualifications which can be utilised in client property ventures or event projects. Etiquette Expert William Hanson’s The English Manner^[1]is a fantastic resource if you’re looking to improve your social etiquette (use code TIGER for discounts!). For those looking to gain exposure to UHNWI on a private yacht, these require maritime courses and qualifications before you’re eligible to get on board, so use your downtime to study up!

Some of our favourite free courses for quarantine

From bookkeeping to yachting, completing the below courses will do wonders for your CV and career prospects!

• FutureLearn’s Bookkeeping Course^[2]
• Rioja Wine Academy’s Diploma ^[3]
• Oxford Home Study’s Interior Design Course^[4]
• Shaw Academy’s Project Management Course ^[5]
• RYA’s Yacht Courses ^[6]
• Architecture fundamentals, from Harvard University ^[7]
• Cake decorating, from Sugar Cake School ^[8]
• Basics of Photography, from LifeHacker ^[9]
• Art and visual culture: Medieval to modern, from Open University ^[10]
• Mindfulness/meditation, from Udemy ^[11]
• 101 Surprising Ideas Inspired by Art, from Christie’s ^[12] – this is not free but, at $49, is heavily discounted compared to their other courses

Short-term learning

If you aren’t interested in sitting through hours of course material, there are plenty of other options for you when it comes to upskilling. YouTube is home to a plethora of instructional videos and webinars, from learning how to decorate beautiful cakes to identifying the value of art.

Learning a new language can also come in handy, especially for families with international homes – and apps like Duolingo^[13] or Babbel^[14] will let you practise in five-minute increments.

Finally, once completed, don’t forget to add the qualification to your CV!

^{[1] https://www.theenglishmanner.com/etiquette-courses#social-etiquette-training}

^[2] https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/bookkeeping-financial-accounting

^[3] https://riojawineacademy.com/en/home

^[4]https://www.oxfordhomestudy.com/courses/interior-design-online-courses/free-online-interior-design-courses

^[5] https://www.shawacademy.com/courses/business/online-project-management-course/

^[6] https://www.rya.org.uk/courses-training/Pages/hub.aspx

^[7] https://online-learning.harvard.edu/course/architectural-imagination?category%5b%5d=1&sort_by=date_added&cost%5b%5d=free

^[8] https://learn.sugarcakeschool.com/collections

^[9] https://lifehacker.com/basics-of-photography-the-complete-guide-5815742

[10] https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/art-and-visual-culture-medieval-modern/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab

[11] https://www.udemy.com/course/mindfulness-meditation-science/

[12] https://www.christies.edu/online/courses/continuing-education/online-courses

^[13] https://www.duolingo.com/

^[14] https://begin.babbel.com/en_gb/multilanguage_selection/

Author Tiger Contributor Tiger Recruitment Team