As our economy is looking much different due to the effects of COVID and new digital skills are more in demand, Microsoft announced a global skills initiative on June 30. Citing the fact that, global unemployment in 2020 may reach a quarter of a billion people, the company wants to assist with providing skills that people will need to find new jobs.
The goal of the program as presented by Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, is to “to provide easier access to digital skills for people hardest hit by job losses, including those with lower incomes, women, and underrepresented minorities.”
In a detailed blog post, he explained the program that is based on identifying what the new jobs will be and what skills are required. The company will provide free access to content as well as offering low-cost certifications.
Microsoft will provide $20 million to support these efforts.
The company will offer grants and technical support to global non-profit organizations. They are targeting groups who are particularly vulnerable during this pandemic. “This includes people with disabilities, people from low-income communities, and people from diverse backgrounds that are underrepresented in tech, including women and underrepresented minorities,” Smith writes.
Some specific resources the company will provide include:
- Free access to LinkedIn Learning paths until March 2021. Collaborative courses are taught and cover entry-level digital literacy to advanced product-based skills.
- Free access to Microsoft Learn which is for jobs that are more technical.
- Access to GitHub Learning Lab, which is a bot-based learning tool that uses repositories to teach technology, coding.
For more detailed information on certifications see the entire blog post.
