Administrative assistants earn a median $26.44 an hour in Canada and graphic designers $31.25, according to Job Bank. The free courses on this page cover those jobs and a dozen more, from customer service to pharmacy work, and you pay nothing unless you want a certificate.
Courses you can start for $0
Office, health, warehouse and design lessons, listed below
How these free online courses work
Most courses listed here run on Alison, an Irish platform with more than 50 million learners. There is no deadline and no tutor: you set the speed, and you can stop and come back whenever you like.
6,000+
free courses on the platform
2 to 3 h
for a certificate course; a diploma takes 8 to 10
80%
needed on every assessment, with retakes allowed as often as you need
CPD UK
accredits the courses; the paid certificate is optional
Free courses matched to jobs and their Job Bank pay
A course is worth more when you know which job it points to. Some of these jobs hire straight after a short course, and some need a college program on top, so check the last column.
| Free course and job | Median pay per hour | What else the job asks |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative support Administrative assistant | $26.44 | Office software skills; no licence |
| Customer service skills Call centre agent | $22.00 | No licence; employers train on their own systems |
| Warehouse management Shipper and receiver | $22.50 | Often forklift training, given by the employer |
| Graphic design Graphic designer | $31.25 | A portfolio of your own work |
| Insurance brokers Insurance broker | $30.00 | Ask your province about its licensing rules |
| Pharmacy assistance Pharmacy assistant | $20.00 | Not a regulated role; you work under a pharmacist |
| Dental assistant Dental assistant | $27.00 | An 8 to 12 month college program, and registration in most provinces |
Figures are Canada-wide hourly medians on Job Bank. In Ontario and BC no job may pay under the minimum wage, $17.95 and $18.25.
Certificates employers want in person, not from an online course
❤️ BLS and first aid
Ontario’s WSIB approves no online-only first aid program; theory can be online, but the skills are shown in person. A BLS card takes a five-hour class, and Canadian providers ask you to renew it every year.
Learn the BLS theory first →
🦷 Dental assisting
Intra-oral duties need the national NDAEB certificate everywhere except Quebec, and a college program comes first.
Try the free dental lessons →
💊 Pharmacy technician
Unlike the assistant, a technician studies two years, passes the PEBC exams and registers in every province but Quebec.
Begin with pharmacy basics →
Training money and free courses beyond these lessons
Once a free course confirms your interest, public money can pay for the full program. These are the main options and who can use them.
Your library card: Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary libraries give members LinkedIn Learning at no cost, and Toronto adds Gale Courses with certificates of completion.
Better Jobs Ontario: up to $28,000 for a program of a year or less, plus as much as $500 a week to live on, for laid-off or long-unemployed workers. You apply through Employment Ontario.
StrongerBC future skills grant: up to $3,500 toward short programs at 24 public schools in BC, for residents aged 19 or older.
Canada Training Credit: $250 builds up for each year you work between 25 and 64, to $5,000 over a lifetime, and you claim it between 26 and 65. It refunds half the tuition at a Canadian college or university.
Finish a free course and put it on your resume
STEP 1
Book two evenings in your calendar; most certificate courses end inside that time.
STEP 2
Take notes for each module, then sit the assessment until you score 80% or more.
STEP 3
Download Alison’s Learner Record at no cost, or buy the certificate if an employer asks for one.
STEP 4
List it under Training on your resume, with the course name and the hours it took.
Online learning is already common. In Statistics Canada’s internet use survey, 22.6% of Canadians aged 15 and older learned something online on their own, and 21.8% took a course through a school or employer.
Questions about free online courses in Canada
Will an employer accept an Alison certificate?
For customer service, office software or design work, it shows initiative. For regulated work, such as dental or first aid duties, it does not replace the official program.
Is there a catch, given the lessons cost nothing?
Alison shows ads and sells optional certificates. The price changes with the format, digital or mailed, and with where you live.
Does the Canada Training Credit cover these courses?
No. It only applies to tuition at Canadian post-secondary schools or institutions certified by the federal government, so save it for the full program.
Start a free online course before the week is out
Two or three hours is enough to finish your first certificate course. Choose the one closest to the job you want and begin the first module now; it costs you nothing to try.
Course rules and figures: Alison help centre and home page. Pay and job requirements: Job Bank wage and requirement reports. In-person certificates: WSIB, St. John Ambulance, Heart and Stroke providers and NDAEB. Funding: Government of Ontario, WorkBC, Canada Revenue Agency and the Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary public libraries. Online learning: Statistics Canada, Canadian Internet Use Survey.