Microsoft and LinkedIn are launching the next phase of support for job seekers and employers in the transition to a skills-based economy.Microsoft has announced that more than 30 million people in 249 countries and regions have gained access to new digital skills. Among the participants in the program are over 10,000 Kazakhstani citizens. These figures have exceeded the initially stated goals from June of last year, when the program was originally planned to reach 25 million people. Additionally, the company is expanding its commitments and plans to help 250,000 companies organize hiring processes focused on the skills of potential employees in 2021.
During the pandemic, millions of people, from factory workers who lost their jobs to salespeople and truck drivers, turned to online courses on GitHub, LinkedIn, and Microsoft to gain the qualifications needed for the most in-demand jobs, including in customer service, project management, and data analysis.
To help people affected by the global economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company made the
decision to extend access to free LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn courses until the end of 2021, as well as the opportunity to obtain Microsoft certifications at a discount for the 10 most in-demand professions.
The next phase of the initiative lays the foundation for a skills-based economy through a series of new tools and platforms designed to connect qualified job seekers with employers.
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In the past year, we have seen how strongly the pandemic has affected the lives of those least prepared for its negative consequences. We are combining the efforts of LinkedIn and Microsoft to make the labor market more inclusive, skills-oriented, create more alternatives, ensure flexibility, and provide accessible learning options that will ultimately help job seekers find new jobs more easily,” -
said Microsoft President Brad Smith.As of today, the total number of participants involved in the training program in Kazakhstan is over 10,000 people, with the most popular areas of study being data analytics, graphic design, cloud technologies, and management.
LinkedIn plans to help 250,000 companies organize employee hiring based on their skills this year using existing and new recruitment tools. The company will provide new products for both job seekers, which will help them better showcase their skills, and for employers to connect with candidates based on their competencies. Among these tools:
- LinkedIn Skills Path Pilot Project - a new way to help companies hire highly qualified professionals. Skills Path combines LinkedIn educational courses with a skills assessment system to help recruiters find the most suitable candidates based on their verified skills. LinkedIn is launching the Skills Path pilot jointly with companies that aim to expand their hiring practices and attract candidates with diverse experiences, including companies like BlackRock, Gap Inc., and TaskRabbit.
- New inclusive and personalized features available in LinkedIn profiles will help people tell more detailed and interactive stories about themselves, their careers, and goals. Today, 75% of HR professionals believe that a standard resume is not enough to assess a candidate's skills, and nearly 80% note that video is a more reliable way to verify candidates*. Therefore, video covers will now be available in profiles, allowing job seekers to demonstrate their interpersonal (soft) skills to recruiters and hiring managers.
- Extended access to LinkedIn Skills Graph will help develop a common approach and definition of skills for individual users, employers, educational institutions, and government agencies, which will help improve the quality of human resource planning, hiring processes, and development programs.
In turn, Microsoft will unite all divisions of the company to support LinkedIn's efforts in promoting promising opportunities in digital skills. For example,
Career Coach, an app based on LinkedIn in Microsoft Teams, provides personalized career path recommendations to higher education students. Career Coach offers educational institutions a solution for students that helps them reveal their goals, interests, and skills using an AI-based skills identifier. The app is integrated with LinkedIn and aligns the student's profile with labor market trends, helps develop practical skills, and connects mentors and colleagues in one place.
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For a long time, the recruitment process was based on characteristics from the candidate's previous job, the degree they had, or recommendations from acquaintances. It's time for change. Employees have become better at understanding and articulating the skills they already possess and those they need to develop. At the same time, companies have started paying attention not only to personal recommendations and connections but also to the skills that employees possess, including candidates from communities that are often underestimated. We want to accelerate these changes. Since June of last year, Microsoft and LinkedIn have helped more than 30 million people worldwide gain access to digital skills, and today we are expanding our initiative and planning to help 250,000 companies build hiring processes based on skills and competencies,” -
noted Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn.As part of this initiative, Microsoft is closely collaborating with its nonprofit partners to help provide comprehensive support in the form of mentoring, mentorship programs, and community building for nearly 6 million students. Microsoft does not plan to stop and announces a new online service
Career Connector, which will allow 50,000 technical specialists to find jobs over the next three years. This new online platform will focus on students who have acquired skills through nonprofits and Microsoft's training partners, with a focus on women and underrepresented groups in the tech industry.
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* According to an online survey conducted by Censuswide on behalf of LinkedIn from February 25 to March 2, 2021, among 1,009 hiring managers and 2,101 job seekers aged 18 to 69 in the United States.
About MicrosoftMicrosoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation in the era of the "intelligent cloud" and "intelligent technologies." The company's mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more.
For more information, please contact:
Olga Glebova, Communications Specialist, Microsoft |CEE Multi-Country| (066) 144 13 19,
a-olgleb@microsoft.comAnastasia Shcherbakova, PBN Hill+Knowlton Strategies, +7 (705) 170 29 72,
v-anastasias@microsoft.com
