REDMOND, Wash., July 29, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. today launched the Skills 2000 Internship Program to help Microsoft® Certified Solution Provider (MCSP) companies cultivate future employees. The program is designed to help fill more than 41,000 current job openings worldwide with MCSPs; these jobs remain unfilled due in part to a lack of qualified applicants. Microsoft Certified Solution Providers are independent organizations working with Microsoft and include a wide range of companies such as systems integrators, custom application developers, installation and deployment service providers, business consultants, and training organizations.
The internship program, which initially will be available in the United States, provides resources for MCSPs to implement internships and links those companies with IT students in the United States at more than 950 Microsoft Authorized Academic Training Program (AATP) institutions, 1,000 Authorized Technical Education Centers (ATECs) and national career counseling organizations.
Effective immediately, Microsoft is providing MCSPs with four months on The Monster Board, a leading online recruitment site, to post internship listings free of charge. Individuals seeking an internship with an MCSP can post their resume for free on The Monster Board site (connect-time charges may apply). MCSPs seeking information and individuals seeking an internship can access the Skills 2000 Internship Program Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/trainingandservices/default.asp?PageID=training & SubSite=itcrintern/default.htm .
Robert Erman of Micro Modeling Associates Inc., an MCSP in Boston, has had great success integrating one or two interns annually into his organization.
“Our internship program provides us with affordable access to potential employees who are energetic, bright and hard-working,”
Erman said.
“Interns enhance our overall work force by adding motivated people who are willing to learn the business from the ground up.”
“MCSPs have been asking for a way to more easily implement internships and locate student interns with entry-level technical skills or an interest in exploring the IT industry,”
said Nancy Lewis, general manager, worldwide training and certification at Microsoft.
“We’re helping MCSPs tap into a valuable resource – AATP and ATEC students. It’s a win-win situation; MCSPs can cultivate future employees, and students can gain the real-world skills and experience that employers look for.”
The Skills 2000 Internship Web site provides MCSPs with information on the benefits of internship programs and resources to help implement such programs. Online (or Web site) wizards walk MCSPs through the process of developing an internship offering, including decisions on compensation, duration, intern responsibilities and goals. The Web site also includes case studies and information on best practices from MCSPs currently conducting internship programs.
MCSPs Tap Resource of IT Students
AATP and ATEC students will provide MCSPs with cost-effective labor they can evaluate before hiring an employee on a permanent basis. At the same time, interns gain valuable experience and hands-on learning to develop technical skills that employers are seeking.
Launched in 1995, Microsoft AATP is a formal technology education and support program that trained more than 100,000 high school, vocational, community college and four-year college students during the past academic year for careers as network managers, systems administrators and programmers.
ATECs are independent technical training companies authorized by Microsoft to offer Microsoft Official Curriculum courses. Courses are delivered by a Microsoft Certified Trainer,
and more than 650,000 students in the United States received training through an ATEC between July 1997 and June 1998. AATP and ATEC students receive training to prepare for Microsoft certification exams and receive the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) designation. MCSPs are seeking MCPs to apply for internships through the Skills 2000 Internship Program because the Microsoft certification program is one of the industry’s most comprehensive programs for assessing and maintaining software-related skills, and technical managers worldwide recognize the MCP designation as a mark of quality.
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