Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Development
    • IT Management
    • Small Business

    Microsoft, LinkedIn, GitHub Partner for Ambitious Jobs Initiative

    By
    Chris Preimesberger
    -
    July 1, 2020
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Skills.Training

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      You may or may not know that despite the fact some 30 million people are out of work right now in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are an estimated 1 million IT-related jobs going unfilled, and companies are typically having a hard time finding the right candidates for many of them. 

      The tech industry can’t limp along with all those jobs going unperformed, so Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft President Brad Smith and LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky jointly announced June 30 they’re hitting this problem head on. The IT giants launched an ambitious global skills initiative aimed at bringing digital programming and administrative skills to more than 25 million people worldwide by the end of the year.

      Yes, you read that correctly: That means within six months. This project is designed to bring together existing and new resources from LinkedIn, GitHub and Microsoft; it also includes a new application to be added later this year to the Microsoft Teams platform that will help employers upskill new and existing employees.

      What This Project Aims to Accomplish

      This initiative is aimed at:

      • using data to identify in-demand jobs and the skills needed to fill them;
      • providing free access to learning paths and content to help people develop the skills these positions require; and
      • making available low-cost certifications and free job-seeking tools to help people who develop these skills pursue new jobs.

      “At its heart, this is a comprehensive technology initiative that will build on data and digital technology,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a blog post. “It starts with data on jobs and skills from the LinkedIn Economic Graph. It provides free access to content in LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn and the GitHub Learning Lab, and couples these with Microsoft Certifications and LinkedIn job seeking tools.” 

      In addition, Smith said, Microsoft is backing the effort with $20 million in cash grants to help nonprofit organizations worldwide assist the people who need it most. One-quarter of this total, or $5 million, will be provided in cash grants to community-based nonprofit organizations that are led by and serve communities of color in the United States.

      The initiative extends beyond these immediate steps for job seekers, Smith said. 

      “Employees will also need to skill and reskill through their careers, and we want to make it easier for employers to help,” Smith said. “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.

      “We are also pledging that we will make stronger data and analytics available to governments around the world so they can better assess local economic needs. Finally, we will use our voice to advocate for public policy innovations that we believe will advance the skilling opportunities people will need in the changed economy.”

      Unemployment May Reach Record Level in 2020

      According to Microsoft, global unemployment in 2020 may reach a quarter of a billion people—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.

      As is often the case, 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. The impact on communities of color in the United States is especially concerning. The Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed that the country ended the month of May with unemployment rates in the Black/African-American and Hispanic/Latino communities that were markedly higher than for white individuals.

      The employment of American women has also been impacted disproportionally by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployment rates among 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.

      Within only a few months, COVID-19 has provoked a massive demand shock, setting off job losses that far exceed the scale of the Great Recession a decade ago. The world will need a broad economic recovery that will require in part the development of new skills among a substantial part of the global workforce, Smith said.

      Where to Start to Look for a New Tech Job

      To provide people with easier access to the soft skills needed to pursue a new job, Microsoft is offering free access to four horizontal LinkedIn Learning paths. These are:

      • Job seeker:  Finding a Job During Challenging Economic Times
      • Critical soft skills: Master In-Demand Professional Soft Skills
      • Digital transformation: Digital Transformation in Practice: Virtual Collaboration Tools
      • Allyship and inclusive conversations: Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging for All

      As part of this new initiative, LinkedIn is sharing free, real-time labor market data and skills insights to help governments, policymakers and business leaders understand what’s happening in their local labor markets: what companies are hiring, the top jobs companies are hiring for and the trending skills for those jobs. This data can be accessed using a new interactive tool at linkedin.com/workforce. Data is available for more than 180 countries and regions (150+ cities, 30+ countries). Users can search by country or region and download the data sets.

      Microsoft also used the Economic Graph as a critical planning resource for the skills initiative by identifying the key jobs and horizontal skills that are most widely in demand and creating learning paths for these via LinkedIn Learning.

      “Using this data,” Smith said, “we identified 10 jobs that are in-demand in today’s economy and are well positioned to continue to grow in the future. These 10 jobs were identified as having the greatest number of job openings, have had steady growth over the past four years, pay a livable wage, and require skills that can be learned online.”

      1. Become a Software Developer
      2. Become a Sales Representative
      3. Become a Project Manager
      4. Become an IT administrator (Prepare for CompTIA Network+ Certification)
      5. Become a Customer Service Specialist
      6. Become a Digital Marketing Specialist
      7. Become IT Support / Help Desk (Prepare for the CompTIA A+ Certification)
      8. Become a Data Analyst
      9. Become a Financial Analyst
      10. Become a Graphic Designer

      For more detail on the initiative, read Smith’s blog post.

      Author
      Chris Preimesberger
      https://www.eweek.com/author/cpreimesberger/
      Chris J. Preimesberger is Editor Emeritus of eWEEK. In his 16 years and more than 5,000 articles at eWEEK, he distinguished himself in reporting and analysis of the business use of new-gen IT in a variety of sectors, including cloud computing, data center systems, storage, edge systems, security and others. In February 2017 and September 2018, Chris was named among the 250 most influential business journalists in the world (https://richtopia.com/inspirational-people/top-250-business-journalists/) by Richtopia, a UK research firm that used analytics to compile the ranking. He has won several national and regional awards for his work, including a 2011 Folio Award for a profile (https://www.eweek.com/cloud/marc-benioff-trend-seer-and-business-socialist/) of Salesforce founder/CEO Marc Benioff--the only time he has entered the competition. Previously, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. He has been a stringer for the Associated Press since 1983 and resides in Silicon Valley.
      Linkedin Twitter

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      10 Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) 3D Generators

      Aminu Abdullahi - November 17, 2023 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for creating 3D models and animations. Discover the 10 best AI 3D Generators for 2023 and explore their features.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Social iconFacebook
      Social iconLinkedin
      Social iconRSS
      Social iconTwitter
      Social iconYoutube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×