FutureLearn partners with Microsoft to bridge widening tech skills gaps

One in four young professionals believe online based courses from big tech names will help land their future jobs

FutureLearn.com– the global online learning platform with a mission to transform access to education – is announcing a new relationship with Microsoft which includes providing students with access to six new technology skills courses in high-demand areas such as data engineering and artificial intelligence. 

Research from the online learning platform’s The Future of Learning 2022 report has revealed how high learner demand is among young professionals for such technology skills resources with almost one in four (24%) people across the UK aged 25-34 stating they are most likely to seek out accredited training from a brand or tech company as their preferred way to learn new skills.

Further to this, the majority of 16–24-year-olds surveyed chose campus and online based courses from tech companies such as Microsoft as one of the top ways to upskill and land the job they want. 

The drive to upskill and reskill withinflourishing sectors such as techcomes as no surprise given the current national economic and employment factors such as ‘the great resignation’, coupled with the growing trend away from the ‘job for life’, impacting career choices. This is especially true with younger professionals, as the FutureLearn report found both age groups have changed careers the most compared to other age groups since the start of the pandemic (33% of 16–24-year-olds and 29% of 25–34-year-olds).

Ian McIlwain, VP of Partnerships at FutureLearn, said:

“The Future of Learning report has shown that online learning is the preferred way for over a third of UK adults to get new skills. We also know that learners on our platform that engage with social learning are six times more likely to complete a course than those who do not. Learning online does not have to be a lonely experience. With over 18 million learners from every country in the world on our platform, and partnering with like-minded organisations such as Microsoft, we hope to craft a unique learning experience that will help professionals across the tech sector gain invaluable career-boosting skills.” 

Geoff Hirsch, Senior Director, Worldwide Learning Partner Channel team at Microsoft, said:

“The technology sector continues to face both a wealth of new innovations and opportunities, yet an ever-growing skills shortage that needs to be addressed with valuable upskilling and reskilling resources. That’s why we’re pleased to partner with global platforms like FutureLearn, whose unique social learning pedagogy helps to foster deeper connections and knowledge-sharing between professionals no matter what stage of their career they’re at. Whether you’re looking to build new skills to launch your career in technology or you’re reskilling to move into the sector, FutureLearn courses aim to equip you with the tools needed for success.”

The online courses are available to start learning on the FutureLearn platform today, and span a range of subject areas including: Microsoft Azure for Data Engineering, Introduction to Microsoft Power BI + Analysing and Visualizing Data with Power BI, Azure Fundamentals, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Introduction to Azure Architect Technologies. The Microsoft courses on FutureLearn will prepare learners for further Microsoft Certifications.

The full collection of Microsoft courses is available to view and access on the FutureLearn website here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/collections/microsoft