The Latvian Information and Communication Technology Association (LIKTA) has agreed on cooperation with “Microsoft” in the amount of 90,000 US dollars, which allows continuing the education and qualification improvement program “Virtual practices in the Baltics” in 2023 as well, LIKTA president Professor Signe Bāliņa informed.
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This will be the third round of the “Virtual internships in the Baltics” program. LIKTA implements this project together with the Innovation Center of the University of Latvia LUMIC and cooperation partners in Lithuania and Estonia.
According to LIKTA’s president, the project offers free courses to all interested parties in the Baltics on current digital tools and programs that help simplify and improve work and are applicable in everyday life. For a deeper interest, studies can open the way to a career in information and communication technology (ICT). Participants acquire practical knowledge in the courses, then participate in virtual internships, where they test the acquired skills in conditions identical to the real work environment, learning practical skills in various Baltic organizations.
“Our goals are quite specific – virtual internships address the overall economic demand for ICT specialists and for professionals with high-level digital skills,” emphasized Professor Bāliņa.
This training allows you to increase your qualifications and thus improve your position on the labor market. The activity is not only aimed at young people and students, but at professionals of all ages who are looking for new career opportunities or who want to improve their competitiveness in the labor market.
Currently, the website www.balticinternships.eu has records of previous courses. In the new round of the project, interested parties will be offered free courses on artificial intelligence, a basic course in Python programming, as well as a course on data analysis and visualization tool Microsoft Power BI. You can apply for the courses from April this year.
It is planned that at least 7,500 participants will graduate from the courses this year, 2,500 people will participate in internships and events with industry employers, at least 1,500 project participants will get a new job or a promotion in their current job or significantly improve their qualifications, increasing their competitiveness in the labor market and thus also their income. In the previous round, more than 12 thousand participants took part in the courses, 4,325 people improved their practical skills in virtual practice.
“Countries where people have better acquired digital competences and where various technologies and digital services are widely used have better quality of life indicators,” says Vaida Sapole, head of Microsoft in the Baltics. People in these countries are more productive and earn more, and as the “Microsoft Digital Future Index” confirms, digital skills drive the kind of innovation that allows the economy to grow, creating new jobs with higher added value.
