Microsoft Corporation recently announced that it helped over 30 million people in 249 countries and territories gain access to digital skills, of which over 60,000 of them were from Bangladesh.
This tops its initial goal of 25 million from last June.
Microsoft is also extending its commitment to help 250,000 companies globally make a skills-based hire in 2021, said a press release.
From laid-off factory workers to retail associates and truck drivers, millions of people have turned to online learning courses from GitHub, LinkedIn, and Microsoft during the pandemic to help prepare for and secure the most in-demand roles, including customer service projects management and data analysis.
The announcement, detailed on the Official Microsoft Blog, builds on the company’s efforts to help people by extending through 2021 free LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn courses and low-cost certifications that align to 10 of the most in-demand jobs.
The next stage of the initiative sets a new foundation for a skills-based economy through a suite of new tools and platforms designed to connect skilled job seekers with employers.
“The Pandemic has changed everything, and the post-pandemic world will be a lot different than what we knew of it. Moreover, we are standing on the brink of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), which will fundamentally bring alchemical change and significantly impact all industries, including the job market," said Afif Mohamed Ali, country managing director, Microsoft Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, and Nepal.
It has become vital for individuals to learn and improve their set of skills that will help them emerge stronger in the post-pandemic world, he added.
LinkedIn plans to help 250,000 companies globally make skills-based hires this year through new and existing hiring products.
The company will provide both new ways for job seekers to demonstrate their skills and new tools for employers to connect to candidates based on their skill proficiencies including, LinkedIn Skills Path, LinkedIn profile features, and LinkedIn Skills Graph.
The pilot of LinkedIn Skills Path is a new way to help companies hire for skills.
Skills Path brings together LinkedIn Learning courses with Skill Assessments to help recruiters source candidates more equitably — based on their proven skills.
Expanded access to LinkedIn’s Skills Graph will help create a common skills language for individuals, employers, educational institutions, and government agencies to improve workforce planning, hiring, and development programs.
Microsoft is bringing together every part of the company to supplement LinkedIn’s work to promote far-reaching digital skills opportunities, including Career Coach.
It is a Microsoft Teams for Education app, powered by LinkedIn, that provides personalized guidance for higher education students to navigate their career journey.
Career Coach offers educational institutions a unified career solution for students to discover their goals, interests, and skills using an AI-based skills identifier and LinkedIn integration.
It also aligns a students’ comprehensive profile with job market trends and helps them grow real-world skills while connecting them with mentors and peers all in one place.
“More and more, we are seeing skills-based hiring becoming critical in our world of work. We’ve seen people across the globe express a desire to learn and build their skills, and organizations too, are hiring based on skills instead of traditional qualifications," said Olivier Legrand, managing director and vice-president, Asia Pacific & China, LinkedIn.
