The program of Microsoft Ambizione Italy #DigitalRestartofficially launched in May 2020, formed so far 2 million people, by providing them with digital skills and helping them in their professional retraining process. The data is provided by Microsoft during the annual “Microsoft Skilling Weeks” event, a two-week marathon with training and workshops dedicated to artificial intelligence, data analysis, application development, cloud, cybersecurity and business applications for new high school graduates and graduates, professionals and students to update and learn new digital skills. The Italian Division of the Colossus of Redmond aims to train 3 million people by September 2022.
In Italy there are 150,000 vacancies in the digital sector
The data disclosed by Microsoft only confirms the surreal situation that our country is experiencing: on the one hand, there is still one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe (respectively young people and women at 28% and 51%), on the other hand, the demand for qualified and specialized jobs is growing strongly, profiles that companies cannot find on the market. In this regard, I am 150,000 digital jobs which have not been covered so far in the Bel Paese due to a lack of technical skills. Although Italy has made some progress in digitalization, it remains the penultimate country of the Old Continent in terms of the diffusion of digital skills, crucial for accelerating growth and development. In fact, alone 42% of people between the ages of 14 and 74 have basic digital skills (the European average is 56%) and only 22% have advanced digital skills (the European average is 31%). The percentage of ICT specialists in Italy is also lower than in the rest of Europe: we are talking about 3.6% of total employment against a European average of 4.3%. It is important to note that only 15% of Italian companies are able to train their employees in tech issues, compared to 20% at European level. Finally, according to Censis, the phenomenon of skills mismatch causes stunted growth GDP equal to 1.2% in our country.
Silvia Candianigeneral manager of Microsoft Italy, said: “The crucial point is digital skills, in which there is still too little investment: we need experts in AI, the Cloud, Cybersecurity, professional personalities who are experts in green technologies, to take advantage of digital to ensure a more sustainable business, a truly urgent global challenge. Thanks to the funds provided by the Pnrr for the formation of human capital, we have before us an unprecedented opportunity. Together with Ambizione Italia #DigitalRestart and our partners, we provide a comprehensive and scalable platform with training programs and technological innovations to help companies in all sectors and all professionals to accelerate digital and grow “.
Microsoft ESG Academy, Generation Italy e AGIC
Ambizione Italia #DigitalRestart also includes a program dedicated to training and many initiatives are planned throughout the country. On this occasion, new projects were announced: the birth of Microsoft ESG Academy (the first training that offers digital skills and notions related to sustainable development), a partnership with AGIC on AI and a series of developer courses with the foundation Generation Italy.
“Technology plays a key role in the development of sustainable ecosystems. What we like to call a new Renaissance requires greater awareness and knowledge from all stakeholders. The objective of this initiative with a leading company like Microsoft is therefore to place people at the center of this global phenomenon.”commented Fabrice Fiocchiadministrator and founder of the ESG Academy.
In the next few weeks (early 2022) courses to become a developer in collaboration with Generation Italythe non-profit foundation founded in 2014 by McKinsey & Company and which today operates in 16 countries. The course, which lasts 14 weeks and is aimed at young people aged 18 to 29, is completely free and will train professionals capable of creating websites and web applications in all their components. At the end of the course, all students are guaranteed to have at least one job interview with partner companies of the project looking for these professional skills.
Microsoft Italy also announced the launch of new training courses in collaboration with AGIC, under theAiCademyto train a new generation of professionals.
“The world of information technology is changing radically and rapidly. Many skills quickly become obsolete and young people present themselves with a preparation that is not fully in line with market requirements. Willingness to learn, adaptability and good basic and specialized computer culture are the characteristics that we try to cultivate within AiCademy, through our approach aimed at young people but also at professionals in the sector who wish to get back into the bath. This project makes sense because it is connected to a technological leader who combines unquestionable innovative skills with an unpredictable social sensitivity, we are absolutely proud to be an active part of this Microsoft-led project which actively contributes to the design, implementation implementation and delivery of the course while guaranteeing its quality”he stated Paul Brunat, AGIC Technology partners.
The collaboration between Microsoft Italy and Global Foundation: the program has also been extended to the cities of Milan and Rovigo and to the region of Basilicata. It’s a Road of coaching which involves the actors of the territory involved in the training and teaching of new skills in metropolitan and non-metropolitan contexts.
“With Ambizione Italia per i Giovani, we aim to create a real national ecosystem, capable of building networks and hybrid alliances around the challenge of digital skills and work for all, starting with the young and the most vulnerable. Because everyone, without exception, must be able to benefit from the opportunities offered by digital transformation and enabling technologies. Economic recovery can be inclusive and of quality for all,” said Mirta Michilli, Managing Director of Fondazione Mondo Digitale. “I find the alliance between companies, institutions and the third sector very important to guarantee quality training that has a concrete response and positive effects on the world of work. It is only by creating a strong synergy on the territory and by ensuring a complete integration between labor policies and social policies that concrete results can be obtained. Providing adequate training to those who need to change jobs and retrain is certainly an important way forward.”commented Elena BuscemiPresident of the City Council of Milan.
To support the growth of SMEs Microsoft Italia e Unicredit extended their partnership. The project Together4Digital is about to start: companies will be equipped with the skills, technology and all the tools for sustainable, digital and financial growth.
Finally, Microsoft Italy confirms the collaboration with CRUI (Conference of Rectors of Italian Universities) to facilitate the meeting of supply and demand in the world of work. “The country currently recognizes the central role of the university system in restarting the economy and society. This goes through our duty to give the best for the future of our young people and the development of businesses. Collaboration between the public and private sectors, based on research and innovation, will be the key to supporting change. Through initiatives like this, we can more easily identify priorities from which to guide training and placement activities and be more effective in relation to the development goals that unite us.” commented Francois CupertinoRector of the Polytechnic of Bari and member of the board of CRUI.