Microsoft, LinkedIn and GitHub reach 7.74 lakh learners in India via digital skills initiative.
Microsoft Corp has reached one crore learners globally through its global skills initiative that was announced in July this year, with India accounting for close to 7.74 lakh learners. India accounted for close to 7.74 lakh learners - ranking second globally after the US that had ranked first with a reach of 2.5 million learners.
Microsoft Corp, at the end of June, had announced a global initiative aimed at bringing more digital skills to 25 million (2.5 crore) people worldwide by the end of the year. The announcement came in response to the global economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"In the three months since the launch of the initiative, Microsoft, LinkedIn and GitHub have reached 10 million learners in 231 countries and territories through opportunity.linkedin.com. Across 21 markets in Asia Pacific, there have been close to 1,552,000 learners reached through the initiative," Microsoft said in a statement.
India ranked second globally in its skilling progress, having reached close to 774,000 learners, it added. In a blogpost, Microsoft said it is seeing huge numbers of people from the US, India, UK, France and Canada participating in the initiative.
Microsoft said globally, the most popular in-demand learning paths were software developer, customer service specialist, and data analyst. Similarly, within India, the top learning paths are software developer, data analyst and digital marketing specialist, it added.
COVID-19 has accelerated the need for upskilling and transformed the future of work for communities in India, and addressing and closing the skills gap is an urgent task, key to inclusive economic recovery and digital transformation, Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer at Microsoft India, said.
"While we are close to the halfway point of our goal to help 25 million people globally, we continue to strive in our commitment to drive societal progress and help improve the lives of people in India by advancing their capabilities and expertise," Srivathsa said.
