30 million learners participate in the free Microsoft digital skills initiative

Over 30.7 million people across the globe have participated in the free Microsoft global digital skills initiative. The company says this sharing an update on the initiative’s progress nine months on.

An increase from the 10 million reached in September last year and surpasses the planned target of 25 million. It also sees the number of participating countries increased from 231 countries and territories to 249.

The United States, India, Brazil, United Kingdom, Mexico, Poland, France, Germany, Canada and Spain account for the to 10 countries with learners.

Microsoft says it is ready to launch the next phase of the project after learning from it. The next phase will see Microsoft help 250,000 companies make a skills-based hire in 2021.

The company announced the Global Skills initiative program at a time when the world was grappling with a pandemic that saw millions of lives affected globally. Microsoft gave people the opportunity to acquire in-demand digital skills across Microsoft Learn, LinkedIn, and GitHub learning platforms.

Among learners, popular courses have been for roles in software development, customer service and data analysts according to Microsoft.

Microsoft is extending the free LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn courses and low-cost certifications that align to 10 of the most in-demand jobs offer through 2021.