Microsoft wants to train 25 million people worldwide in digital technology

SAN FRANCISCO | Microsoft intends to equip 25 million people by the end of the year with the skills necessary to find a job or stay up to date in a world that has accelerated its digital transition due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As companies reopen, it is clear that the economy in July will not be that of January,” said Brad Smith, the president of the IT giant, in the preamble to a statement released Tuesday.

The initiative consists of providing information and training tools via the group’s platforms (including LinkedIn and GitHub) and also offers to obtain certifications attesting to the mastery of Microsoft tools (Azure cloud, Microsoft suite 365, etc.).

Those who can demonstrate that their jobs have been affected by the pandemic will benefit from substantial reductions.

The data compiled on the professional network LinkedIn is supposed to help governments and large organizations in their task, to recreate the conditions of a better job market.

They have already enabled Microsoft to identify 10 trades that have been in high demand for several years, requiring skills that can be acquired online, as a software developer, sales representative, project manager, IT technician, digital marketing specialist, data analyst, financial analyst, graphic designer …

“According to (our) calculations, global unemployment could reach 250 million people in 2020,” says Brad Smith.

“Large containment” has only accelerated a fundamental trend, that of automation and the rise of digital and data technologies, such as artificial intelligence or the cloud (remote computing).

Over the next 5 years, the Redmond company anticipates the potential creation of 149 million positions related to technology, including 98 million in software development.

Microsoft also plans to give $ 20 million in grants to NGOs around the world “who help those who need it most”, including $ 5 million specifically for associations founded by and for communities of black or racialized people.

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