CHICAGO, Oct. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday,
Microsoft Corp., in collaboration with corporate, learning and
community partners, announced the launch of Accelerate Chicago. The
program aims to reach 300,000 Chicago residents to provide a pathway from
skilling to employment for community members to bridge the digital
skills divide and route people to diverse and equitable hiring and
re-employment opportunities. Job seekers in Chicago can start their journey toward their
career reinvigoration today, with programs, events and
opportunities available now at aka.ms/AccelerateChicago.
"As Chicago builds its economy back in the wake of COVID-19,"
said Deb Cupp, president of
Microsoft U.S., "the Accelerate program expands economic
opportunity and provides the skills needed to support an inclusive,
equitable recovery. We're proud to work with our civic, learning
and corporate partners to bring this program to Chicago."
"Especially given the socioeconomic fallout of this crisis, we
have been laser-focused on identifying and pursuing initiatives
that will uplift our residents and ensure our city's equitable
post-pandemic recovery," said Chicago Mayor Lori E.
Lightfoot. "Bridging the digital divide and creating
good-paying, sustainable jobs for people to take advantage of are
necessary steps we must complete in order to fulfill this
obligation. Accelerate Chicago
will help do this and more, and I am grateful to Microsoft and its
partners for investing in the future success of our residents,
their communities and our entire city."
As digital capabilities rapidly progress, digital skills across
local communities must keep pace. The Accelerate program brings
together a unique set of public and private partnerships specific
to Chicago to unlock new economic
opportunities and create a local pipeline that empowers individuals
both to learn skills for high-demand jobs and support connection to
hiring opportunities. Accelerate is fundamentally different from
other skilling initiatives as the model is based on an ecosystem
partnership that provides upskilling, re-skilling and
cross-skilling for in-demand jobs and a path to employment that
supports long-term careers. Together, we are establishing a
sustainable system that generates economic and community impact,
targeted to community members susceptible to job displacement and
unemployment:
- Community partners, including Chicago Westside NAACP, Metro
Edge Development Partners, MxD, P33, Quilt Corp., World Business
Chicago, and Zimney & Co., will help mobilize the community
with the deep understanding of the local needs and connecting those
who can benefit most from increased digital equity and
opportunities to get back to work.
- Learning partners, including Dream Hustle Code, General
Assembly, Generation USA,
Goodwill, i.c.stars, NPower, Per Scholas, Upwardly Global, and Year
Up, will help deliver the curriculum and drive delivery and
execution of the skilling and credentials programs to provide
tailored digital training that empowers job seekers for the next
step in their career.
- Microsoft is providing resources for mobilization globally,
free courses across Microsoft Learn and LinkedIn aligned to the top
10 most in demand jobs and working to help 250,000 companies make a
skills-based hire this year with LinkedIn.
The initiative supports the needs of Chicago locals impacted by the global pandemic
and racial inequities in access to education. Chicago, like other cities, faces an increased
unemployment rate, and has a large population tied to
COVID-19-impacted industries such as manufacturing, financial
services, transportation and professional services in the region.
Expanding access to digital skills is a critical first step in
improving employability to help build local economic recovery,
especially for the people hardest hit by job losses. The Accelerate
Chicago program is designed to benefit those students and service
workers with low digital skills, in addition to those with moderate
or high digital skills (the existing digitally fluent population)
who could benefit from upskilling and cross-skilling. The result is
a broad offering that works to address people who require digital
skills to stay competitive and empower them to seize the employment
opportunities of the future.
Accelerate Chicago is the
latest U.S. implementation of Microsoft's global skills initiative,
an ambitious plan to help people worldwide acquire new digital
skills, and furthers recent commitments from Microsoft and LinkedIn
to help 250,000 companies make a skills-based hire in 2021. More
information can be found at this U.S. Partner blog.
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.
Perspectives From Accelerate Chicago Member
Organizations
"While digital transformation in business has been well underway
for years, the pandemic
accelerated this growth toward digital-first
solutions and platforms," said Michael
Fassnacht, president and chief executive officer of World
Business Chicago and chief marketing officer for the city of
Chicago. "The digital divide for
many of our residents has been exacerbated especially over the past
18 months. This is why it's so exciting that Microsoft's
Accelerate Chicago program will help close the digital
skills gap in communities often left behind by technological
progress."
Learning Partners
"There is a clear and growing need for digital skills in today's
workforce, but the supply and demand that we're seeing in the labor
market is simply not matching up," said Lisa Lewin, CEO at General Assembly. "Despite
the fact that nearly 10 million Americans are still out of work,
companies everywhere are scrambling to find the talent they need —
oftentimes because there aren't enough skilled workers to fill in
the gaps. To jumpstart our economic recovery, it's more important
than ever that we come together as educators, businesses,
policymakers and community leaders to address this head on. General
Assembly could not be more excited to collaborate with Microsoft
and its partners in Chicago to
make that possible through our training."
"Digital skills are the price of entry for many jobs, and
employers are increasingly demanding them. When all people have
access to digital training, opportunities open up and our society
becomes more equitable. Today, this need for access is particularly
acute as the pandemic has had an outsized impact on people of
color, people without a college degree and people with lower levels
of income," said Steven C. Preston,
president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "Microsoft
understands the impact of empowering people with essential
skills. The employer partnerships created by Accelerate will
help individuals turn the promise of newly acquired skills into the
reality of a brighter future."
Community Partners
"It is imperative to address the systemic inequities in access
to high-speed internet and technology careers in Chicago, and it's time to close the digital
divide," said Craig Huffman,
co-founder and CEO of Metro Edge Development Partners (MEDP).
"Decades long economic disparities have created challenges that
should no longer be ignored, and MEDP's work with Microsoft will
help create new opportunities for South and West Side
residents."
"MxD is proud to support Accelerate Chicago through its
manufacturing workforce initiatives and longstanding partnership
with Microsoft," said Chandra Brown,
CEO of MxD, the nation's digital manufacturing and cybersecurity
institute. "From middle and high school curricula through
apprenticeships and targeted trainings, MxD helps build a
resilient, post-pandemic digital manufacturing workforce across
the United States, with an
emphasis on creating opportunities for underserved populations such
as veterans, inner-city and rural communities, and people with
disabilities."
"Per Scholas is proud to be part of Accelerate Chicago and has
long been committed to closing the equity gap in technology by
offering free IT training and connecting our graduates with
technology jobs," said Plinio Ayala,
president and CEO of Per Scholas. "This coalition couldn't come at
a better time, especially as we strive to ensure an equitable
recovery from the pandemic for women and people of color in
particular."
"Upwardly Global is thrilled to partner with Microsoft in
Accelerate Chicago. Now more than ever, we must work to uplift and
train a diverse and inclusive workforce to ensure they're meeting
the needs of the current labor market," said Jina Krause-Vilmar, president and CEO of
Upwardly Global. "It's no secret that workers from underrepresented
groups offer skills and resilience to our workforce — all assets
needed to catalyze our economic rebound. Our hope is that
Accelerate Chicago becomes a model for digital workforce training —
and one that gives jobseekers the skills needed to thrive."
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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.