REDMOND, Wash., June 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft
Corp. on Tuesday announced a new global skills initiative aimed at
bringing more digital skills to 25 million people worldwide by
the end of the year.
The announcement comes in response to the global economic crisis
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Expanded access to digital skills
is an important step in accelerating economic recovery, especially
for the people hardest hit by job losses.
This initiative, detailed on the Official Microsoft
Blog, includes immediate steps to help those looking to
reskill and pursue an in-demand job and brings together every part
of the company, combining existing and new resources from LinkedIn,
GitHub and Microsoft. This includes:
- The use of data to identify in-demand jobs and the skills
needed to fill them.
- Free access to learning paths and content to help people
develop the skills these positions require.
- Low-cost certifications and free job-seeking tools to help
people who develop these skills pursue new jobs.
This is a comprehensive technology initiative that will build on
data and digital technology. It starts with data on jobs and skills
from the LinkedIn Economic Graph. It provides free access to
content in LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn and the GitHub
Learning Lab, and couples those with Microsoft Certifications and
LinkedIn job seeking tools. These resources can all be accessed at
a central location, opportunity.linkedin.com, and will be
broadly available online in four languages: English, French, German
and Spanish.
In addition, Microsoft is backing the effort with $20 million in cash grants to help nonprofit
organizations worldwide assist the people who need it most.
One-quarter of this total, or $5
million, will be provided in cash grants to community-based
nonprofit organizations that are led by and serve communities of
color in the United States. The
company is also pledging to make stronger data and analytics —
including data from the LinkedIn Economic Graph — available to
governments around the world so they can better assess local
economic needs.
Microsoft will use its voice to advocate for public
policy innovations that will advance skilling opportunities needed
in the changed economy.
Microsoft also announced it is creating a new learning app in
Microsoft Teams designed to help employers skill and upskill new
and current employees as people return to work and as the economy
adds jobs.
"COVID-19 has created both a public health and an economic
crisis, and as the world recovers, we need to ensure no one is left
behind," said Microsoft CEO Satya
Nadella. "Today, we're bringing together resources from
Microsoft inclusive of LinkedIn and GitHub to reimagine how people
learn and apply new skills — and help 25 million people facing
unemployment due to COVID-19 prepare for the jobs of the
future."
"The biggest brunt of the current downturn is being borne by
those who can afford it the least," said Microsoft President
Brad Smith. "Unemployment rates are
spiking for people of color and women, as well as younger workers,
people with disabilities and individuals with less formal
education. Our goal is to combine the best in technology with
stronger partnerships with governments and nonprofits to help
people develop the skills needed to secure a new job."
"Creating opportunity for every member of the global workforce
drives everything we do at LinkedIn," said LinkedIn CEO
Ryan Roslansky. "As a part of the
Microsoft ecosystem, we have the unique ability to help job seekers
around the world — especially those who have been
disproportionately disadvantaged during the COVID-19 crisis — gain
the skills and find the jobs they deserve. We're proud to be
bringing the right data about what the jobs and skills of the
future will be to create the right learning paths to help 25
million job seekers find their next opportunities. We're making it
all available at opportunity.linkedin.com."
More information can be found at the Microsoft
microsite news.microsoft.com/skills.
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every
organization on the planet to achieve more.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corporation