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. Indonesia ranked 26th globally in its skilling progress, having reached more than 57,000 learners. Globally, 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 in Indonesia. Addressing and closing the skills gap is an urgent task, key to inclusive economic recovery and digital transformation. 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 empower Indonesians by advancing their capabilities and expertise,” Haris Izmee, President Director of Microsoft Indonesia.
During its 25 years in Indonesia, Microsoft Indonesia remains committed to enabling Indonesia achieve more through technology solutions, in various fields. In early October, Microsoft and the Indonesian Teachers Association of the Republic of Indonesia (Persatuan Guru Republik Indonesia – PGRI) recently launched the Gurulympics 2020 Program at the Innovative Teacher Training of Trainers (TOT) graduation ceremony. This event also celebrated the organization’s 75th anniversary as well as National Teachers Day and was conducted virtually.
TOT began in June 2020 and was initially attended by 6,985 teachers, which then expanded to more than 100,000 teachers ranging from kindergarten to higher education institutions from 34 provinces as well as Overseas Indonesian Schools in 13 countries.
In the field of creative economic development and economic recovery through digital transformation, Microsoft launched its “Highway to a 100 Unicorns” Initiative to support startups in Asia Pacific, including Indonesia. This program aims to discover and nurture technology startups with a high potential to become truly global enterprises in the future.
It is hoped that this initiative will increase the capacity of startups in the country with a year-long mentorship of technical and business deep dives, access to enterprise clients globally as well as opportunities to interact with Microsoft experts and industry stalwarts.
For more information on the global skills initiative can be found at the Microsoft microsite news.microsoft.com/skills.