- Around the world, 2020 has emerged as one of the most challenging years in many of our lifetimes.
- In six months, the world has endured multiple challenges, including a pandemic that has spurred a global economic crisis. As societies reopen, it’s apparent that the economy in July will not be what it was in January.
- Increasingly, one of the key steps needed to foster a safe and successful economic recovery is expanded access to the digital skills needed to fill new jobs.
- And one of the keys to a genuinely inclusive recovery are programs to provide easier access to digital skills for people hardest hit by job losses, including those with lower incomes, women, and underrepresented minorities.
A recent blog posted in the Microsoft written by Brad Smith addresses the global skills initiative aimed at bringing more digital skills to 25 million people worldwide by the end of the year.
The aim of the initiative
This initiative will bring together every part of our company, combining existing and new resources from LinkedIn, GitHub, and Microsoft. It will be grounded in three areas of activity:
(1) The use of data to identify in-demand jobs and the skills needed to fill them;
(2) Free access to learning paths and content to help people develop the skills these positions require;
(3) Low-cost certifications and free job-seeking tools to help people who develop these skills pursue new jobs.
Microsoft focuses on skills learning
Microsoft’s vision for skills extends beyond these immediate steps for job seekers.
Employees will also need to skill and reskill through their careers, and we want to make it easier for employers to help.
Our vision is a connected “system of learning” that helps empower everyone to pursue lifelong learning.
That is why we are also announcing today that Microsoft is developing a new learning app in Microsoft Teams to help employers upskill new and existing employees.
This will bring together best in class content from LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, third-party training providers, and a company’s own learning content and make it all available in a place where employees can easily learn in the flow of their work.
The problems to address
According to Microsoft calculations, global unemployment in 2020 may reach a quarter of a billion people. It is a staggering number.
The pandemic respects no border. In the United States alone, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the country may witness a 12.3 point increase (from 3.5% to 15.8%) in the unemployment rate, equating to more than 21 million newly out-of-work people. Many other countries and continents face similar challenges.
- The biggest brunt of this downturn is being borne by those with lower educational attainment, people with disabilities, people of color, women, younger workers, and individuals who have less formal education.
- Unemployment rates among American women, which has hovered with or edged below men’s unemployment rates, soared to more than 16%, almost 3 percentage points higher at the April peak.
- Manual jobs have now shrunk to 26% due to automation. By contrast, jobs involving heavy cognition and problem-solving have simultaneously risen from 22% to 34%.
A principled approach
The global skills challenge calls for a principled response. The following are the efforts on six key elements:
- Use data and technology to help people develop new skills
- Focus on a broad set of skills.
- Ask employers to do more.
- Lean on partners.
- Pull together every part of our company.
- Use our voice to change policy.
Today’s global skills initiative is based on months of planning across Microsoft to provide meaningful help to 25 million people globally by the end of 2020. Microsoft’s activities will be focused on three areas:
- Data and analytics to better understand in-demand skills and jobs
- Free access to learning paths and comprehensive resources to help people develop the skills needed for in-demand jobs
- Connecting skills to opportunities through industry recognized certifications and powerful job seeker tools
About Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Learn is a free, interactive, hands-on training platform that helps people develop in-demand technical skills related to widely used Microsoft products and services including Azure, Microsoft 365, Power Platform, Microsoft Dynamics, and more.
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Source: Microsoft
