Microsoft helps 60,000 Bangladeshis gain access to digital skills during pandemic

Microsoft Corporation has announced that it has helped over 60,000 people in Bangladesh gain access to digital skills during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It said it helped over 30 million people in 249 countries, including Bangladesh. The number of people tops its initial goal of 25 million from last June. Microsoft is also extending its commitment to help 250,000 companies globally make a skills-based hire in 2021, said a press release on Thursday.

From laid-off factory workers to retail associates and truck drivers, millions of people have turned to online learning courses from GitHub, LinkedIn, and Microsoft during the pandemic to help prepare for and secure the most in-demand roles, including customer service projects management and data analysis, it said.

The announcement, detailed on the Official Microsoft Blog, builds on the company’s efforts to help people by extending through 2021 free LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn courses and low-cost certifications that align to 10 of the most in-demand jobs, the press release said.

The next stage of the initiative sets a new foundation for a skills-based economy through a suite of new tools and platforms designed to connect skilled job seekers with employers, it said.

Afif Mohamed Ali, country managing director, Microsoft Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, and Nepal, said, “The Pandemic has changed everything, and the post-pandemic world will be a lot different than what we knew of it. Moreover, we are standing on the brink of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), which will fundamentally bring alchemical change and significantly impact all industries, including the job market.

“It has become vital for individuals to learn and improve their set of skills that will help them emerge stronger in the post-pandemic world. Thus, we have collaborated with LinkedIn to double our efforts to support the development of a more inclusive skill-based labour market, to create more alternatives, greater flexibility, and access learning paths to connect more people with new job opportunities.”

LinkedIn plans to help 250,000 companies globally make skills-based hires this year through new and existing hiring products. The company will provide both new ways for job seekers to demonstrate their skills and new tools for employers to connect to candidates based on their skill proficiencies including, LinkedIn Skills Path, LinkedIn profile features, and LinkedIn Skills Graph.

Microsoft has worked closely with its non-profit partners to provide wrap-around support with coaching, mentoring, and networking to nearly 6 million learners worldwide. Microsoft will apply these lessons more broadly and is announcing a new online service, Career Connector, that will provide 50,000 job seekers worldwide with the opportunity to secure a tech-enabled job over the next three years. It will focus on learners who have built skills via Microsoft’s non-profit and learning partners, emphasizing women and underrepresented minorities in technology.