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By Gail Thomas-Flynn, Microsoft US State & Local Government General Manager
Today I had the privilege of joining Governor Bev Perdue at the Harris Campus of Central Piedmont Community College to announce the launch of Microsoft Elevate America in the state of North Carolina. As part of this initiative, we’re partnering with North Carolina Community College System, the Division of Workforce Development in the N.C. Department of Commerce and the N.C. Employment Security Commission to distribute 23,700 training vouchers during the next 90 days. The vouchers are open to any North Carolina resident and provide access to eLearning courses and select technology certification exams at no cost to the recipient.
We launched Elevate America back in February in an effort to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in the global economy by improving access to the education and workforce skills required for twenty-first century jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that in 5 years, more than 3/4 of all jobs in the U.S. will require at least a basic level of technology skills. But achieving this requires private-public collaboration, so we’ve partnered with governments, schools, community organizations and local companies to maximize our effectiveness and tailor the programs to local needs.
The program has now been launched in eight states, including North Carolina, Illinois, Iowa, Virginia, Washington, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri—with no direct costs to these states.
In addition to eLearning courses and certification exams, Elevate America is also offering free access to the Microsoft Digital Literacy Curriculum, career resources for students, and free tutorials for web design. Over the next three years, our goal is to train up to 2 million people nationwide with critical technology skills, and we expect to announce additional states in the coming months.
If you want to learn about how to bring the Elevate America program to your city, county or state, please visit here.
Technorati Tags: Elevate America,North Carolina,Governor Perdue,Microsoft
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