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Microsoft Announces Its Own Stimulus Plan

by Warren Riddle on February 28, 2009 at 04:50 PM



Last week, at the National Governors Association conference in Washington D.C., Microsoft publicized details of a new initiative, Elevate America, designed to teach computer skills to two million people over the next three years. The program offers two primary plans, one available immediately from Microsoft, and one to be offered in conjunction with local and state governments.

The governments, a list that began with Florida, New York and Washington, and expanded to include California, Colorado, Delaware, Minnesota and Virginia, will distribute a million vouchers to be used for Microsoft eLearning courses and select certification exams. Available immediately at the organization's Web site are courses providing not only basic help, such as starting an e-mail account and creating a resume, but also information about certification exams and internship opportunities.

In an effort to provide help during the current economic crisis, Microsoft hopes to give people access to the technical skills required in the modern workforce. Washington governor Christine Gregoire praises homegrown Microsoft's efforts, which come at what the company describes as a "significant cost."

Elevate America is a great example of Microsoft's leadership on education and workforce development – issues that bring us a step closer to recovery by helping us provide critically important help to our citizens," Gregoire said at the conference. "Washington state is pleased to be one of the first states to partner with Microsoft to provide Elevate America to our residents.Future updates on the program's status, including news of the addition of more states can be found at its Twitter page. [From: BetaNews]

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Tags: economic crisis, EconomicCrisis, Elevate America, ElevateAmerica, microsoft, web certifications, WebCertifications

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