{"id":1896,"date":"2022-11-29T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2022\/11\/29\/how-microsoft-is-partnering-with-education-institutions-to-help-improve-the-future-of-work\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T10:57:55","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:57:55","slug":"how-microsoft-is-partnering-with-education-institutions-to-help-improve-the-future-of-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2022\/11\/how-microsoft-is-partnering-with-education-institutions-to-help-improve-the-future-of-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How Microsoft is partnering with education institutions to help improve the future of work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Coming out of the pandemic, education systems have faced huge challenges, including a shortage of skilled teachers, the rising cost of education, a cumulative learning loss, and increased awareness of the inequality of access to learning. These challenges don\u2019t only affect the schools though; they affect the entire world economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft\u2019s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more<\/strong>. It\u2019s a people-centric mission and we want to make a difference in the lives of individuals and their communities with a diverse range of skills, cultures, and backgrounds. This is why Microsoft has partnered with various education systems and leaders to help improve our world through education. We provide free professional development learning opportunities through Microsoft Learn<\/a> to help students gain valuable in-demand skills to prepare them when entering the workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By upskilling students, we empower individuals to increase productivity, which in turn helps create a more competitive labor market and develop economic growth in countries around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping up with the pace of change for in-demand digital skills<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A difficult challenge faced by educators and leaders with future workforce skilling is keeping up with the pace of change for digital skills. Year over year, the skills in demand evolve. It is estimated that 85 million jobs will be displaced by 2025 because of the fast automation of the workforce. However, it is also estimated that the robot revolution will create 97 million new jobs, only there likely won\u2019t be enough skilled people to fill the roles1<\/sup>. Furthermore, studies show 68% of students don\u2019t understand what skills are needed to start their career, and 80% of employers believe graduates do not arrive fully equipped with skills necessary for their job2<\/sup>. Pinpointing the specific digital skills that will be the most in-demand in the future can be difficult, which is one reason many employers place non-technical skills high on their list. These skills, such as analytical thinking, creativity and flexibility, communications, and content creation are skills education systems can focus on building in their students today, regardless of the path of study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is also a proven set of digital skills, both consumptive and productive, that is showing to have earning power no matter the chosen career path. Consumptive digital capabilities are skills that enable learners to use existing digital tools and systems, such as Excel, PowerPoint, Teams<\/a>, and Office 365<\/a>. For students, these are vital to ensure their workplace productivity and support further studies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Productive or creative, innovative digital capabilities are skills that enable learners to use tools like cloud, data and AI to create solutions and processes for themselves and others, including training and developing AI, analyzing and understanding data and databases or creating digital materials using coding. A foundational aptitude in these areas is increasingly important in every type of job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital skills are needed in every job<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An example of how digital skills are relevant to every student comes from Milton Keynes College in the UK. Its health and social care students will one day be responsible for caring for patients, a role which is traditionally associated with face-to-face contact. But as part of their course, they were shown how augmented reality technology was being used in a COVID-19 ward to help healthcare teams experience what was happening with the patients, without having to expose themselves to infection. This is a great illustration of how digital disruption is empowering healthcare professionals.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Every sector is getting closer to the center of that digital vortex. Is every nurse going to have to be a data scientist? Absolutely not. Is a nurse going to have to be able to read the warning signs, because actually the data that is informing their ward is saying that patient X is going to need more care than patient Y today? Yes.\u201d  <\/p>\nAlex Warner, Principal, Milton Keynes College, England<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Planning for digital transformation and addressing the skills demand is just one step; implementation is an equally daunting hurdle. Based on feedback from discussions with vice chancellors, provosts, principals, and various university senior leaders from across the world, there are significant barriers to facilitating digital capabilities. However, it\u2019s a whole team effort and you don\u2019t have to do it all at once. A first step can be as simple as an educator looking for curriculum, program officers looking for certification, students looking for cloud credits, or institutions looking for transformation. Shai Reshef, Founder and President of the University of the People said, \u201cWhen you educate one person you can change a life, when you educate many you can change the world.\u201d With the transformative power that education can bring, we must reach students at every level, every background, and every skill level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Microsoft an ideal partner for future-ready students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft is partnering with education systems and school leaders across the globe to ensure learners are as prepared as can be. Future-ready students are ones that are certified smart and certified capable. Microsoft is an ideal partner with scalable and up-to-date learning paths, digital products, solutions, and resources customizable for every system and for every level. This is an important step in how we can improve our world through education with skilling\u2014building skills that open doors in everyone\u2019s career with Microsoft Learn<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Learn focuses on three main areas to drive employability skills and connections to careers for students across education. Microsoft is committed to expanding our partnerships and collaboration with secondary schools, colleges, and universities in these three areas to help increase relevance, bolster the industry alignment of academic programs, save educators\u2019 time, save schools on costs, and assist students with better preparation for careers of the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n