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Elevating America one veteran at a time

Posted by Pamela Passman
Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs

Pamela Passman
Pamela Passman, Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs

Earlier today while speaking to the annual conference of the National Association of Workforce Boards in Washington, D.C.,  I announced that Microsoft is forming a coalition of public, private and non-profit organizations to help our country’s veterans and their spouses get the additional skills they need to succeed in today’s economy.  

The initiative is an extension of Elevate America, a program Microsoft launched just over a year ago.   Working in partnership with state governments, Elevate America provides free technology training and certification to help workers secure, and retain,  21st century jobs.

The need is particularly acute among former soldiers transitioning to civilian life.  Today, nearly 185,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are unemployed,  and the unemployment rate among veterans is 20 percent higher than the rest of the population.  Our servicemen and women possess strong military and leadership skills, but many lack the formal education, technology training and certification employers seek.  There is a great opportunity for the public and private sector to partner to ease the transition for veterans and provide more skilled workers for U.S. employers. 

The coalition we are forming will include businesses,  veterans groups, workforce agencies, non-profit organizations and community colleges.   The coalition will provide not only job training but also placement, counseling and other support services, including childcare and transportation assistance.  Our efforts will target members of the armed services and their spouses who are separating from the military and re-integrating into their communities.  We will assist both former active-duty soldiers and members of the National Guard and reserves returning to civilian jobs.

As part of our commitment, Microsoft will contribute $2 million in cash and up to $6 million in software to support these programs.  We will issue a request for proposals to determine how we will award cash, software and other resources to eligible organizations.

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Posted 08 March 2010 11:00 AM mscorp | with Post Comment
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The Local Economic Benefits of the Global Software Business

Posted by Pamela Passman
Corporate Vice President

Creating jobs and speeding economic recovery are top of mind for everyone these days, including those of us in the information technology (IT) industry.  A recently released study entitled “Aid to Recovery:  The Economic Impact of IT, Software, and the Microsoft Ecosystem on the Global Economy,” illustrates some of the ways the industry is doing its part to get the economy growing again.

This study, which was conducted by research firm IDC and commissioned by Microsoft, supports what academics and other researchers have believed for some time:  Innovation and IT are core drivers of economic growth.

IDC found that the global IT industry will create 5.8 million new IT jobs by the end of 2013, a 3 percent annual growth rate – more than three times the growth rate of total employment.  Similarly, IT spending will grow more than 3 percent annually for the next few years, more than three times faster than global GDP.  And more than 75,000 new IT companies will be created by the end of 2013, most of them small and locally owned.

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Posted 04 October 2009 09:00 PM mscorp | with Post Comment
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Promoting Innovations to 21st Century Careers

Posted by Fred Humphries
Managing Director U.S. Government Affairs

At Microsoft, we believe that equipping students and workers with the education and skills they need to compete in the 21st century global economy is critical to U.S. economic and national security. Indeed, despite the economic downturn and high unemployment rates, Microsoft and thousands of our partners continue to struggle to find workers with the knowledge and experience necessary to help our businesses compete and grow.

These skill shortages exist despite significant investments by Microsoft and our like-minded partners to grow the pipeline of science, technology, engineering and math students through programs such as Partners in Learning, which provides curricula and class materials, and DreamSpark, which offers students free software. 

But even if we succeed in developing a deep pool of highly skilled IT workers in the U.S., there will still be substantial workforce development needs to keep the U.S. economy evolving and growing long-term. For instance, there has been much talk in Washington, D.C., about the wave of new green jobs and health IT occupations that are likely to emerge over the next decade.  Such occupations will also require that job seekers possess a basic platform of skills to prosper in a global economy.

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Posted 04 August 2009 04:39 PM mscorp | 2 comment(s)
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How Will Windows 7 Impact the Global Economy?

Posted by Pamela Passman
Corporate Vice President

Given the large number of customers Microsoft serves around the world, and the many partners we collaborate with to maximize and deliver the benefits of our software, we have long sought to understand the economic impact of our work and our products.

Such information is especially helpful now, as governments and businesses look for catalysts that can help local and national economies rebound from the difficulties of the past year.

We believe that nothing spurs economic growth and creates jobs like innovations that pave the way for new products and services.  We also know investments that advance information technology can help societies address some of their most pressing problems, from reducing the cost of health care to improving education and protecting the environment.  Microsoft is investing more than $9 billion in research and development this year, building on years of very significant investments in R&D, which will result in significant product launches over the next 12 months.   Most notably, we are preparing to unveil a new version of our popular Windows operating system, Windows 7, this fall.

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Posted 15 July 2009 03:12 PM mscorp | 1 comment(s)
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Inspiring Young Women to Become Tomorrow’s Tech Leaders

Posted by Teresa Carlson
Vice President, U.S. Federal Government Business

Despite society’s best efforts, there is a huge disparity in the number of men and women majoring in IT fields and pursuing technology-related careers. In 1982, about half of the students majoring in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) were women. Today, only 21 percent of STEM majors are women. Yet, women lead in the development of Web pages and content on sites such as Facebook, and have led some of the most successful tech companies. 

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Posted 02 April 2009 09:04 PM mscorp | 2 comment(s)
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Business, Government Must Resist the Impulse to Erect Barriers in Tough Times

Posted by Brad Smith
General Counsel

While lots of attention in the U.S. has focused on governmental efforts in Washington to create jobs and economic growth, governments all over the world are grappling with similar challenges.

The challenges to the global economy have been top of mind this week in meetings I’ve had with government officials, business leaders, and academics during a trip to Latin America.  In some countries it’s not yet clear how strongly the downturn in the United States will impact their own economies.  But everywhere there is a new effort by public and private enterprises to strike the right balance between short-term adjustments and long-term investments to address the new economic reality.

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Posted 25 March 2009 08:20 PM mscorp | 1 comment(s)
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Supporting Economic Stimulus Efforts in the Puget Sound Area

Posted by Brad Smith
General Counsel

Like nearly every part of America, Washington State has been hard-hit by the current economic downturn.  Yesterday was a hopeful moment, as Washington Governor Chris Gregoire announced 138 transportation and infrastructure projects that will move forward as soon as possible, thanks to $551 million in federal stimulus funds.  Altogether, these stimulus dollars will support the completion of projects representing billions of dollars in transportation investment across Washington state, creating thousands of new jobs, and addressing many of our State’s most pressing transportation needs.

You can see the full list of projects supported by the federal stimulus resources here, and you can listen to the Governor’s press conference here.

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Posted 24 March 2009 08:08 PM mscorp | 1 comment(s)
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Economic Hard Times and the Global Technology Workforce

Posted by David Bowermaster
Administrator, Microsoft on the Issues

Microsoft is not sheltered from the unprecedented crisis battering the global economy.  In response to challenges we are confronting in markets around the world, we announced last month that we would cut jobs and reduce our overall employment level for the first time.  This was a difficult decision, and it was not one we made lightly.  But the long-term health of the company – like the financial fate of the country as a whole – requires prompt and decisive action to adapt to the changed economic reality. On January 22, Sen. Charles Grassley wrote to us asking for more information, particularly about how our plans would affect U.S. workers and non-U.S. citizens working for Microsoft.  Click Read More to see the full text of our response:

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Posted 03 March 2009 10:27 AM mscorp | 7 comment(s)
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New Microsoft Initiative Will Provide Skills Training to American Workers

Posted by Pamela Passman
Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs

With unemployment at 7.6% in January and thousands of additional layoffs since then, the economy and jobs are the key issues here at the National Governors Association meetings in DC this weekend. 

During a panel discussion about transforming America’s workforce, I announced a new Microsoft initiative called Elevate America that is designed to give state and local governments the tools and resources they need to provide no-cost or low-cost technology skills training to help get people back to work.  Several states, including Florida, New York and Washington have already partnered with us to make Elevate America available to their citizens.

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Posted 22 February 2009 09:45 AM mscorp | 6 comment(s)
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Microsoft Hails Senate Passage of Stimulus Package

Posted by David Bowermaster
Administrator, Microsoft on the Issues

If you’ve been reading this blog since we launched it last month, you’ve probably figured out that Microsoft is a big proponent of the stimulus package working its way through Capitol Hill.

We have had one post highlighting the workforce development components of the proposal, and another examining the important science and technology provisions.  Friday, we shared with you Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s remarks urging Congress to pass the legislation and to preserve its strategic investments in technology and innovation.

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Posted 10 February 2009 04:21 PM mscorp | with Post Comment
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