Technology is constantly evolving. Often, just when you have mastered a program, a new version is released and falling too far behind with the technology of your field can make finding a job difficult. Massachusetts’ Governor Deval Patrick has proven he understands this concept by partnering with Microsoft Corp. to provide 26,000 vouchers for free online training in Microsoft products to unemployed individuals. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/bAtOov)Vouchers will be distributed at the thirty-seven Career Centers
located throughout the state as part of the “Elevate America”
partnership between Microsoft Corp. and Massachusetts. The program promises to provide something for everyone by designating half of the vouchers for learning Window’s operating systems and the Office suite and half for learning advanced topics. This latter half includes 5,000 courses for IT professionals and developers and 8,000 vouchers for certification exam courses in such areas as database administration and web design.
“This public-private partnership is exactly the kind of innovative program we need to help our workforce advance. Massachusetts residents will benefit from the opportunity to strengthen their computer skills as we continue to lead the way in businesses that rely heavily upon technology,” Patrick said about Elevate America upon its announcement at Boston’s JobNet Career Center.
Elevate America is just one program in Microsoft’s “Unlimited Potential Initiative.” Over the next three years, this initiative will train two million people across the country in Microsoft technologies. “At Microsoft we certainly believe that technology can be an enabler for economic development,” said Gail Flynn, Microsoft Vice President of State and Local Government.
Moving forward, the Elevate America program should benefit both Microsoft Corp. and Massachusetts. Microsoft will gain users as new people become comfortable with their products and Massachusetts citizens will learn programs crucial for landing their next job. It would be great to see other companies, such as Adobe, following Microsoft’s example by launching similar programs in the future."
[Sources: http://bit.ly/cQY95K, http://bit.ly/bpsjLk, http://bit.ly/d4CPWh]
