The 6 months journey: My honest and comprehensive review of the Mckinsey Forward Program.

Disclaimer: (I’m, not in any way associated with McKinsey, and don’t have any working relationship with them, what is in this article is my honest opinions, I never worked with McKinsey or been their client )...?

Imagine an educational program that's engaging, offered by one of the best consulting companies in the world, teaching some of the most demanded soft skills at a deeper level, almost doesn't require qualifications, designed for everyone, and the best thing, it's totally free. that would be the Mckinsey Forward program...

What is the McKinsey Forward program??

McKinsey Forward program is a totally free educational and training program, that usually takes 6 months, and is offered by McKinsey and Company (which is one of the biggest consulting companies in the world)...?

After the pandemic, they noticed that younger professionals with 5 years of experience or less haven't spent a lot of time in offices (due to covid), and therefore they needed some soft-skills boost, so they designed McKinsey Forward, a 6-month program (in their website they say it’s 5 month, but it’s actually 6 months), and it focuses on 4 areas of development… which is learning and resilience, problem-solving, communication skills, and digital skills…?

Why Does it matter??

Because it, offers top-notch learning opportunities and training for free, although it is not available in all regions (at least for now, only available in Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, Turkey, and Azerbaijan as a pilot program) ….?

Another key point is it’s designed for all specializations and fields, You don’t need to be too smart or need a specific specialization or field or have prior knowledge to learn it (you don't need a business degree for example), you only need good English, and willing to learn…?

It takes around 4 hours (the program page suggests at least 2 hours per week, but I found it needs at least 4 hours) especially if you want to understand things deeply and learn the optional content…?

Forward Program breakdown:?

The program consists of 3 levels, (each level has a deadline)...

1 The foundation level, which is mostly self-paced courses with some community discussion activities...?

2 The Advanced level, Here's where things get more interesting...

You will get some self-paced courses as well, but you get a group case project too, that’s where you can apply your knowledge on a real-world case and work with a group of your fellows.

Also, you get to solve a test and a business case with a 70% passing score before you pass the advanced level (2nd level) and you need to attend 2 mandatory live sessions as well…

After you finish the 2nd level you get the certificate and the badge and get introduced to the 3rd level.

3 The Networking level: this is a 2-year long networking level where you can access a big network of other McKinsey learners, get the opportunity to volunteer at McKinsey Forward and access continuous education via webinars and different learning resources...?

Let’s take about my review of the course:?

Overall, I would give it 9.5 out of 10: ?????

Why I wouldn’t give it 10, is because even an awesome program like this can get better…?

In general, it was spectacular, I can’t say how much I enjoyed it and learned from it, a lot of topics were new to me, but even topics I was familiar with, were explained more deeply, and sometimes in simpler ways, butting it all together into wider perspective…?

Also, most courses in the program are based on business case examples, and the lessons are very interactive, which I love…?

Another big plus is the moderate usage of business language, it’s professionally written but doesn't require a finance degree to understand it!

Let’s start with the things I think can get improved:

And yes, I’m pretty nitpicking here, because I want this program to be even better...

1- The mobile app:

You can access the course via 2 ways:

The web browser on the desktop, and the mobile app. The latter needs much improvement, it's quite slow (takes a lot of time to log in and load the content even when I'm using a fast internet and a modern smartphone, and it logs out frequently, without any way to save the password or keep you logged in. which can be annoying.

2- Not being able to access the data later:

After you finish the first 2 levels, you can't access the course data after that, which is a double-edged sword, the benefit is you have to study much harder so you don't miss anything ((Hi ????FOMO), but also if you needed the learning materials in the future you won't be able to access it again...?

3- The discussion section:

Although the community where inspiring and awesome, the discussion section isn't very usable and engaging, and for me, it's not impactful, It can get some UI design love.

What I liked…?

1-The content is top-notch, I can’t express how good the content is… it’s pretty concise, and direct to the point, with examples and realistic case studies. and it's not very easy to find it everywhere else (this is not the usual content you find on social media or YouTube... (Disclaimer, I'm not a business expert)...

2- it’s free… 100% free, so that's very generous of them.

3- The community is awesome, whether the group who solved the case with me, McKinsey partners who are explaining the course, the other Forward Learners, or the session presenters, they are all amazing and the vibes are spot on (sometimes I feel it's over positive actually ????).??

4- it’s available on the go, except for the things that I mentioned about the mobile app, having a mobile app is a pretty good option.

5- Most course materials have optional supplementary materials where you can study further on your own, it varies from Ted talks, articles from McKinsey, and from other publishers to full textbooks…?

6- It doesn’t require a lot of time and can be easily handled while working full-time.?

Even the mandatory sessions have multiple spots so you can book one at the time that works for you.

7- You get a shareable certificate with your name and a badge after you finish the 2nd level (like these ??)

and it's sharable by Credly so you can share it on different accounts like Upwork or LinkedIn.?

8- You get access to a big network after you finish the 2nd' level (I haven’t got access yet so I will review this part later)...

9- You keep getting webinars and content for continuous education after the 2nd level (I haven’t accessed this yet too…)?

Some tips:?

1 If you applied to it and they didn't reply to you after more than 20 days, try to apply from a different email, they get a lot of applications…

2 Enter your real data. Because you will get a sharable certificate with your name on it.

3 You don’t have to be super fluent in speaking English, some of my colleagues' English level wasn’t that good but they managed to handle communications well (and most of the program doesn't require you to speak except the group case study)...

4 start early so you don’t rush things up… you want to make the most of your journey…so be sure to start early and take time to study and apply what you learned…?

TL;DR:

Do I recommend it??

I recommend it 100%, it's pretty amazing content, available for free, and works with all fields of knowledge.?

Does it worth my time?

Yes, 200%, it is worth the time and the effort, and I recommend it to anyone eligible to study it… and no, it will not make you a business consultant or make you give the next ted talk or write the next best selling business book, but will give you strong bases that you can build further on it later, and it's not easy to get these bases by yourself outside the program.?

Final words:?

If you want to join the program click the link below:

https://www.mckinsey.com/forward/overview??

If you have any questions, you can check the FAQ section on the program website or ask me, and I will do my best to answer based on my knowledge.

also, I'm looking for the next educational program to join, if you are aware of any similar programs (that are free or affordable) let me know (especially if it is in design, business, productivity, PM, psychology, or tech and AI)?

Also, I usually write about how to design more human-centric AI applications, if that's something you are interested please follow me, and join my newsletter.

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