More than 1.5 million people across 21 markets in Asia Pacific reached
ASIA PACIFIC, 1 OCTOBER 2020 – On Wednesday, Microsoft Corp. announced the progress made since launching its ambitious global skills initiative aimed at helping 25 million people worldwide gain more digital skills in 2020.
In the three months since the launch of the initiative, Microsoft, LinkedIn and GitHub have reached 10 million learners in 231 countries and territories through opportunity.linkedin.com. Across 21 markets in Asia Pacific, there have been close to 1,552,000 learners reached through the initiative. Overall, the most popular in-demand learning paths are Software Developer, Customer Service Specialist, and Data Analyst.
“COVID-19 has accelerated the need for upskilling and transformed the future of work for communities across the region. Addressing and closing the skills gap is an urgent task, key to inclusive economic recovery and digital transformation in Asia. While we are close to the halfway point of our goal to help 25 million people globally, we continue to strive in our commitment to drive societal progress and help improves lives of people in Asia by advancing their capabilities and expertise,” said Ahmed Mahzari, President, Microsoft Asia.
“It’s exciting to see the great progress we have made towards helping job seekers get the skills they need to land their next job. In Asia Pacific, markets such as India and Australia are seeing strong growth in engaged learners. We are continuing to share insights on in-demand jobs and have expanded programs like LinkedIn Coaches to empower job seekers facing barriers to grow their careers and expand their networks through career conversations and LinkedIn trainings,” said Olivier Legrand, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, LinkedIn.
In Microsoft and IDC Asia Pacific’s recent study, Culture of Innovation: Foundation for business resilience and economic recovery in Asia Pacific, it was found that innovative organizations that are more resilient and likely to recover faster from the crisis, were investing more in growing enterprise-wide capabilities and skilling initiatives compared with other organizations (70% versus 44%).
By bringing new digital skills to underserved populations and reskilling workers impacted by COVID-19, Microsoft will continue to promote economic uplift and help build the diverse workforce of the future.
More information on the progress made can be found on the LinkedIn blog by Ryan Roslansky, CEO, LinkedIn. More information on the global skills initiative can be found at the Microsoft microsite news.microsoft.com/skills.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
For more information, please contact:
| Microsoft Asia Marina Levina [email protected] |
Edelman (Partnering agency for Microsoft Asia) Charis Pek [email protected] |
