REDMOND, Wash., May 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp.
and global education provider General Assembly (GA) on Friday
announced a partnership to close skills gaps in the rapidly growing
fields of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and data engineering,
machine learning, data science, and more. This initiative will
create standards and credentials for AI skills, upskill and reskill
15,000 workers by 2022, and create a pool of AI talent for the
global workforce.
Technologies like AI are creating demand for new worker skills
and competencies: According to the World Economic Forum, up to 133
million new roles could be created by 2022 as a result of the new
division of labor between humans, machines and algorithms. To
address this challenge, Microsoft and GA will power 2,000 job
transitions for workers into AI and machine learning roles in year
one and will train an additional 13,000 workers with AI-related
skills across sectors in the next three years.
"Artificial intelligence is driving the greatest disruption to
our global economy since industrialization, and Microsoft is an
amazing partner as we develop solutions to empower companies and
workers to meet that disruption head on," said Jake Schwartz, CEO and co-founder of GA. "At its
core, GA has always been laser-focused on connecting what companies
need to the skills that workers obtain, and we are excited to team
up with Microsoft to tackle the AI skills gap."
The joint program will focus on three core areas: setting the
standards for artificial intelligence skills, developing scalable
AI training solutions for companies, and creating a sustainable
talent pool of workers with AI skills.
- Standards. To create clear and consistent standards for
AI skills, Microsoft will be the founding member of GA's AI
Standards Board, and will be joined by other industry-leading
companies at the forefront of AI disruption. Over the next six
months, the Standards Board will define skills standards, develop
assessments, design a career framework, and build an
industry-recognized credential for AI skills. Learn more about GA's
Standards Boards here.
- Training. As businesses adopt AI and machine learning
cross-functionally, business leaders and technologists alike must
understand AI concepts and master AI tools. Today, Microsoft
supports business in aerospace, manufacturing and other sectors
with Azure, but many workers are not yet ready to leverage its full
capabilities. The collaboration will focus on accelerating the
workforce training needs of Microsoft's customers so that more
teams have the foundational skills needed to work with AI.
- Talent. To ensure that businesses can meet ever-growing
AI talent needs, GA and Microsoft will establish an AI Talent
Network to source candidates for hire and project-based work. GA
will leverage its existing network of 22 campuses and the broader
Adecco ecosystem to create a repeatable talent pipeline for the AI
Talent Network.
"As a technology company committed to driving innovation, we
have a responsibility to help workers access the AI training they
need to ensure they thrive in the workplace of today and tomorrow,"
said Jean-Philippe Courtois,
executive vice president and president of Global Sales, Marketing
and Operations at Microsoft. "We are thrilled to combine our
industry and technical expertise with General Assembly to help
close the skills gap and ensure businesses can maximize their
potential in our AI-driven economy."
About General Assembly
General Assembly (GA), an Adecco Group company, closes skills
gaps for individuals and companies. Offering training and
assessments in software engineering, data science, digital
marketing, and more, GA is building clear career pathways for
people, and sustainable, diverse talent pipelines for employers. To
learn more visit https://generalassemb.ly.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every
organization on the planet to achieve more.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.