(Redmond, WA, Wednesday, July 1, 2020) – Microsoft and LinkedIn announced a global skills initiative aimed at bringing more digital skills to 25 million people worldwide by the end of the year.

This comprehensive technology initiative will bring together every part of the company, combining existing and new resources from LinkedIn, GitHub, and Microsoft and will be grounded in three areas of activity:

• The use of data to identify in-demand jobs and the skills needed to fill them;
• Free access to learning paths and content to help people develop the skills these positions require; and
• Low-cost certifications and free job-seeking tools to help people who develop these skills pursue new jobs.

Additionally, Microsoft is backing the effort with $20 million in cash grants to help nonprofit organizations enable this initiative for people who need it most, including people from communities that are underserved or under-represented in technology. One-quarter of this total ($5 million) will be provided in cash grants to 50 community-based nonprofit organizations that are led by and serve communities of color in the United States.

The event also included discussion on a new learning app in Microsoft Teams, available later this year, which will help employers upskill new and existing employees, bringing together content from LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, third party training providers, and a company’s own learning content to make it all available in a place where employees can easily learn in the flow of their work.

For more information on the announcement go to: https://news.microsoft.com/skills/.