UK Learning New Digital Skills: More Than Half a Million Learning Online
Over half a million people in the UK have learned new digital skills over the past three months by taking free, online LinkedIn and Microsoft learning courses.
They are a part of the 10 million people across 231 territories and countries who have engaged with an opportunity.linkedin.com course since July.
Microsoft announced their milestone only 12 weeks after launching an ambitious global skills initiative aimed at helping around 25 million people to gain more digital skills in 2020.
With the latest ONS figures indicating that roughly 1.4 million people living in the UK are out of work, and that figure being likely to increase significantly when the furlough scheme comes into place, this goal is more important than ever before.
A total of 509,474 people living in the UK have taken up a Microsoft, LinkedIn or GitHub course, with the country ranking third for the most learners across the globe.
The US has recorded the most engaged learners, followed after by India. The most popular learning paths to move in-demand roles are Digital Marketing, Customer Service Specialist and Software Developer.
“We’re delighted that our free LinkedIn Learning courses are helping so many people all over the country gain the critical skills that employers are looking for today. COVID-19 has highlighted more than ever the importance of digital skills and how key they are to securing new jobs and setting people up for the long-term. We hope these resources help anyone facing challenging circumstances reskill for some of today’s most in-demand roles in the digital economy”, says Josh Graff, UK Country Manager at LinkedIn.
This news comes after PM Boris Johnson assured radical changes to the adult education system in England to increase the economy and support those who wish to learn new skills.
As part of the government initiative, Microsoft will now reach even more people with sought after digital skills with the inclusion of their online free learning courses as part of the national skills toolkit.
Microsoft wishes to encourage undeserved population and those who have been impacted by COVID-19 to learn new skills, to help build the diverse workforce of the future and to promote economic uplift.
The company has recently welcomed its new apprentice cohort, launched an Xbox Games Academy Workshop to aid people who want to learn how to make their own games and extend a pilot scheme with Catch 22 that recruits candidates with a range of access to work challenges from ethnicity barriers, homelessness, mental health issues, gender, school exclusion and disability and supports them to access a digital apprentice with a local employer within Microsoft’s network of partners and customers.
“As a country we face multiple challenges, but we believe that learning unlocks opportunity. Today, more than ever, individuals, businesses and government must build the skills we need for tomorrow. Because if we fail to act now, the UK could easily be left behind in the global economy. There are no better investments in our future than the kinds of accessible, lifelong and flexible programmes that the Prime Minister has announced”, says Clare Barclay, CEO at Microsoft UK.
For more information about Microsoft’s global skills initiative, you can visit news.microsoft.com/skills.
