Reskilling the Workforce on the Road to Economic Recovery

The global response to contain COVID-19 significantly changed how we live and work. It accelerated economic disruption, caused massive unemployment, and exposed the inequities in our systems.  

As global hiring rates in some countries begin to stabilize and economies start to reopen, the challenge of getting people back to work becomes more acute. Jobs that people held in February may no longer exist, and any job that can be done remotely likely will continue that way for the next few years. The drive toward digital transformation will continue at a faster pace, and the need for digital skills is more critical than ever. In order to get people back to work, we must equip them with the skills they need to get the jobs that are and will be and not just the jobs that once were.  

That’s why today, as part of the Microsoft ecosystem, we are committing to help 25 million workers who have lost their job due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from LinkedIn’s Economic Graph, we’re identifying the roles that are in-demand in a digital economy and offering free access to LinkedIn Learning paths to help people develop the skills needed for those jobs. We’ve worked together across Microsoft to make all the resources available for free for everyone in one place -- opportunity.linkedin.com.  

Using data from LinkedIn’s Economic Graph, we’ve identified 10 jobs that are in-demand. These roles are not just those with the greatest number of job openings, but also have had steady growth over the past four years, pay a living wage, and require skills that can be learned online. Through this initiative, we hope to level the playing field so that everyone has an opportunity to not just get back into the workforce, but also obtain well-paying and meaningful work.  

We’re also offering free access to four learning paths that will help job seekers build: 1. foundational skills needed to find a job in these challenging economic times; 2. digital fluency skills focused on using spreadsheets, word processors, and email; 3. interpersonal skills, e.g., oral and written communication, collaboration, and project management; and 4. skills around understanding and confronting bias and having inclusive conversations in the workplace. 

Developing skills is just the first step to getting a job. We also recently released a new interview prep-feature, powered by Microsoft AI, that enables job seekers to prepare and practice for interviews. We’re also launching a new feature called #OpenToWork, which allows job seekers to tag roles they’re interested in being considered for, to be more easily found by employers.  

In addition to providing tools for job seekers, we’re also providing tools for policymakers so they can better understand their national and regional labor markets as they develop training and employment programs for their workforce. Leveraging data from LinkedIn’s Economic Graph, we’ve built an interactive data tool for the public to view our labor market insights and download the data for themselves as they consider new resources and programs to get people back to work. Policymakers in over 180 countries and regions around the world will be able to see trending jobs in a given locality or region, top skills required for those jobs, and top employers who are hiring the most in that locality or region. 

We’ll also use our public policy voice to advocate for employment and training programs around the world. A few weeks ago, our team had the opportunity to participate in conversations with the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, a federal working group with representatives across government, industry, and educational institutions to discuss how to reskill American workers for the jobs of the future. Discussions like these are happening around the world, and LinkedIn and Microsoft will share our data and expertise with policymakers as they develop policies that create economic opportunity for their constituents. 

Our efforts to provide digital reskilling resources are just one path on the road to economic recovery. As we're reminded far too often, while talent may be equally distributed, opportunity is not, and systemic barriers to economic and social equality persist throughout our society. As we work to restore the global economy and address existing skills gaps, we'll also continue to focus on closing the network gap to ensure that deserving individuals with the aptitude and skills they need to be successful are able to realize economic opportunities as well. These are a few of the ways we’ll continue to use the power of our products and platform to build a more equitable and just future, and create economic opportunity for all.