Today, Microsoft and LinkedIn announced the next step in the Skills for Jobs program, providing free access to 350 courses and six new Career Essentials Certificates for six of the most in-demand jobs in the digital economy. Microsoft and LinkedIn will also be offering 50,000 LinkedIn Learning scholarships to help people get ahead in their skilling journey. By 2025, Microsoft will help train and certify 10 million people with skills for in demand jobs. Today’s launch builds on the Global Skills Initiative, which helped 80 million jobseekers around the world access digital skilling resources.
To date, Microsoft has engaged 14 million learners in Asia via LinkedIn, Microsoft Learn and non-profit skilling efforts. Of this, over 101,000 learners were from Sri Lanka. The top six LinkedIn Learning Pathways in Sri Lanka were: Project Manager, Digital Marketing Specialist, Software Developer, Critical Soft Skills, Financial Analyst and Graphic Designer.
Using data from LinkedIn and the Burning Glass Institute, Microsoft analyzed job listings to determine six of the roles in greatest demand for the program: Administrative Professional, Project Manager, Business Analyst, Systems Administrator, Software Developer or Data Analyst. The new courses and certificates will be offered in seven languages, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese. This expansion builds on Microsoft’s commitment to supporting inclusive economic opportunity so learners around the world have equitable access to the skills, technology, and opportunity needed to succeed in a digitizing economy.
Harsha Randeny, Country Manager for Microsoft Sri Lanka & Maldives said: “Bridging the skills gaps in today’s digital economy is foundational to inclusive economic and societal progress in Sri Lanka. With our new commitment to help equip another 10 million globally with highly relevant skilling support, we want to continue making tech skills accessible to all, opening up employment opportunities for people to succeed and embrace innovation. We are privileged to be collaborating with LinkedIn and our partners in our local communities, to empower every person in Sri Lanka to be part of a growing digital ecosystem and to achieve more, together.”
The new Career Essentials Certificates are designed to help learners bridge the gap from basic digital literacy to more advanced technical skills training and gain certifications that will be valuable to securing employment. Once a learning pathway is completed, learners will receive a LinkedIn badge to denote their certificate and indicate fluency in the skillset to employers.
All courses are available on LinkedIn at opportunity.linkedin.com. In addition, Microsoft-developed courses are also available on Microsoft Community Training (MCT) and in downloadable format for use on other Learning Management Systems (LMS) for nonprofit partners.