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Microsoft launches next stage of skills initiative after helping 30 million people

Join us: Job seekers, nonprofits and governments 

This initiative will bring together every part of our company, combining existing and new resources from LinkedIn, GitHub, and Microsoft.  

Job Seekers

To access newly available tools and resources, job seekers can visit opportunity.linkedin.com to begin pursuing in-demand technology skills for free across LinkedIn, Microsoft Learn and GitHub.

Governments

In addition to using data to understand the most in-demand roles, Microsoft will share that data with governments so they can better understand the issues and we’ll use our voice on employment and training public policy issues around the world.

Learn more about:
Microsoft and LinkedIn’s policy response recommendations
Jobs and skills data from LinkedIn’s Economic Graph

Nonprofits

Microsoft will provide financial grants and technical support to nonprofit organizations to enable our skilling initiative for 5 million unemployed workers who need it most. Learn more

Millions are using free skills program to find unexpected career opportunities

A woman and her two sons walk along the banks of a lake

Hairdressing was supposed to be Justine Salazar’s safety net. Her father had impressed upon her the need to make sure she always had income options, so she went to cosmetology school while pursuing a business degree and cut hair between other career forays over the years.

The 36-year-old single mother returned to those roots when her two sons needed her to have a more flexible schedule than her job as a property manager allowed. Then the pandemic shuttered salons, and unemployment benefits weren’t initially available for self-employed workers like hairdressers. Her contingency had become a casualty of COVID-19.

Now she is one of more than 42 million people on every continent who have accessed free training through the Microsoft and LinkedIn global skills initiative, created a year ago to help unemployed workers during the pandemic.

 Read the story

Learning around the world

See how many people are participating by country and the most popular learning paths

Skills and jobs analysis

Explore analysis of unemployment crisis and opportunity to create jobs in the digital economy.

The Microsoft PowerBI graphs are interactive, please explore and navigate using your keyboard or screen reader.

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