Microsoft to help 25 million people worldwide acquire digital skills

Via Microsoft

Microsoft has announced a new global skills initiative that will identify gaps, provide free in-demand and digital skills to 25 million people worldwide by the end of 2020.

According to Microsoft, for the world to recover from the impact of COVID, it will require in part the development of new skills among a substantial part of the global workforce.

The company’s strategy will involve pooling data and learning resources from its subsidiaries- LinkedIn and GitHub - to identify in-demand jobs and the skills needed to fill them; provide free access to learning paths and content to help people develop the skills these positions require and provide low-cost certifications and free job-seeking tools to help people who develop these skills pursue new jobs.

LinkedIn Learning’s library will provide free access to collaborative courses, all taught by industry-expert instructors, covering a broad range of skills from entry-level digital literacy, soft skills, to advanced product-based skills for technology roles.

Jobseekers looking for roles that are more technical in nature will have access to in-depth technical learning content through Microsoft Learn and be able to practice their skills in the GitHub Learning Lab. GitHub Learning Lab is a bot-based learning tool that uses repositories to teach technology, coding, Git, and GitHub via real-life, demo-based modules.

“...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” - Brad Smith, Microsoft President.

In addition, LinkedIn will share free, real-time labor market data and skills insights to help governments, policymakers, and business leaders around the world understand what’s happening in their local labor markets.

LinkedIn boasts of data based on more than 690 million professionals, 50 million companies, 11 million job listings, 36,000 defined skills, and 90,000 schools on its platform. This data shows available jobs, their required skills, and the existing skills job seekers have.

Through this data, LinkedIn has identified 10 jobs with the highest number of job openings on the platform, all requiring skills that can be learned online. Some of these jobs include software developer, sales representative, project manager, IT administrator, customer service specialist, among others.

In addition, Microsoft will also offer low-cost access to industry-recognized Microsoft Certifications and also make available tools to help individuals identify and pursue potential jobs.

All resources for job seekers are accessible at

Read more here

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