EMPOWERING GOVERNMENTS TO SUPPORT SKILLS AND TALENT DEVELOPMENT

Over the next five years, more than 149 million tech jobs are expected to emerge in areas such as software development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning. Because of this, supporting global economic development lies in empowering workers with the skills they need to be successful and thrive in this digital economy.

Earlier this month, Microsoft commissioned The Economist Intelligence Unit to research the impact of technology across industries during the pandemic, including in government. The report found that the skills gap in government is not likely to abate soon, citing “skills and talent gaps as a barrier to digital adoption today.”

In addition, LinkedIn recently released its 2021 Workplace Learning Report, the fifth annual report that draws on the view of more than 5,000 professionals across 27 countries, revealing their priorities and challenges. As part of the report, the insights from government talent developers were captured, providing critical insights into the priorities of governments to address the skills gap. These insights drive our focus on employee skills and development.

Through our skills initiatives and programs, Microsoft is committed to supporting governments across the globe who rely on technology to digitally transform their operations,  deliver services to their employees, and empower the citizens they support. From helping with the most basic of digital skills with our digital literacy curriculum, providing introductory to advanced technical training on Microsoft Learn, empowering decision-makers with the technological acumen to accelerate digital operations, or supporting job seekers and citizens with resources aligned to the most in-demand jobs, Microsoft, together with LinkedIn and GitHub, is proud to partner with Government to tackle these challenges and opportunities together.

Microsoft, together with LinkedIn and GitHub, is proud to partner with governments to tackle these challenges and opportunities.

Supporting governments with job seeker and citizen skilling for employment

Recently, Microsoft announced our progress on the Global Skills Initiative. It supports job seekers during the pandemic through access to several programs and offerings. These include freely available learning paths on LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn; discounted industry-recognized Microsoft Certifications; and several partnerships and investments across workforce development agencies and non-profits. Already we have seen great examples of governments leveraging these offerings, particularly amid the pressure on job seekers with the global pandemic. These include the City of Austin, #GetReadySG, and Get On 21 in the UK.

Supporting governments with leadership and employee skilling for digital transformation

As governments migrate workloads to the cloud and prepare themselves for an increasingly digital-first focus, Microsoft is supporting additional training opportunities that align to governments’ needs.

• Government Skills Webinars. We recently kicked off a new series of webinars to share best practices from our government customers, deliver insights on trends and workplace strategies, and offer technical trainings with a specific lens on the public sector. Sessions are live and available on-demand. To attend, simply register on the website. During the coming year, we look forward to adding several additional sessions to the schedule, so stay tuned.
• Microsoft Learn. Microsoft Learn provides access to self-paced, freely available learning on Microsoft technology, as well as several other popular technologies. Microsoft Learn provides up-to-date content to help government employees, citizens, and job seekers, keep up with the pace of technological change and build or refresh skills accordingly. Microsoft Learn also guides users through learning paths to best prepare for taking any one of the Microsoft industry-recognized certifications.
• Microsoft Learn for Government. Today we are announcing the Microsoft Learn for Government home page on Microsoft Learn—a place where the most popular government-specific learning paths will be curated. In addition, we are launching two new learning paths:
  • Optimize government operations with Azure (Non-technical)
    • Discover the potential of Azure for government
    • Intro to data protection and privacy regulations
    • Safeguard public sector data with Azure
    • Support data classification with private and hybrid clouds
  • Protect public sector data in Azure (Technical)
    • Design cloud solutions for the public sector
    • Configuring and managing data residency
    • Manage breach notifications
    • Encrypt public sector data in Azure

• Microsoft AI Business School for Government—In government, decision-makers must consider specific public sector considerations before they can realize the transformational power of AI. It is critical to understand the components of a strategy that will help the public sector create value with AI. This learning path is designed for government decision-makers to illustrate the truly transformational impact of AI in the public sector.
• Linkedin Learning for Government—Linkedin learning is a leading online learning platform that helps professionals learn relevant skills and achieve their goals. It combines a library of more than 16,000 up-to-date courses in seven different languages with an engaging, intuitive, and personalized experience. LinkedIn Learning also includes real-time skills insights that help learning leaders identify skills gaps and learner needs.
• Microsoft trainings and events—In addition to the above, Microsoft continues to make available opportunities for our government customers to take advantage of regular training and events such as Microsoft Virtual Training Days, Microsoft Certifications, and Microsoft Digital Literacy Learning Paths.

Over the coming months, we look forward to working with our government customers to deliver Microsoft Viva Learning, an experience in Microsoft Teams that empowers people to grow and businesses to thrive by bringing learning into the flow of work. We are excited by the potential to have learning content available in one place, whether LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, third-party content providers, Learning Management Systems, or even a government’s own content.