Closely collaborating since 2017 in multiple areas of support to our mission (funds, skills, resources, systems, communication), Microsoft and Passerelles numériques share a strong common vision that Digital Education is a powerful lever to escape poverty in a sustainable way.
Indeed, Microsoft and Passerelles numériques jointly believe that:
- Technology is reshaping the economy and the nature of work – and the skills required to do it are changing.
- Technology is creating a new digital economy, full of economic opportunities.
- But for far too many people, these opportunities remain out of reach because they lack the digital skills required.
To address these issues, Microsoft’s approach (“Career Pathways”) is to commit resources, expertise and their powerful voice to help close the skills gap through developing meaningful partnerships.
Passerelles numériques has been selected early 2019 by Microsoft to be their first regional pilot “embodying” the Career Pathways objectives and dimensions: Empower people, Engage employers, Advocate for change.
Since March 2019, PN and Microsoft teams from all around Asia have been intensively working together to give life to this new and ambitious partnership. PN is now thrilled to see this collaboration growing in a wide and rich range of dimensions:
- Empowering PN with skills reinforcement: Beyond the renewed strong financial contribution to our mission in the 3 centres, Microsoft also provides PN with access to digital certifications for staff, students and Alumni (in Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines). According to the needs and profiles, 110 of them will soon have the opportunity to access learning resources on Cybersecurity, Internet of Things, Data Science, Data Analysis, DevOps, and will receive verified certifications.
- Engaging Employers: Microsoft is engaging their local partners from Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam to be part of PN’s OJT (“On the Job Training”) and as recruiting partners.
- Advocate for change: Even though the Career Pathways pilot collaboration started quite recently, Microsoft has already provided Passerelles numériques with numerous opportunities to share expertise, raise awareness about digital employability, advocate for change and reinforce visibility. Let us share some examples of how Microsoft helps us expand PN’s “reach”:
Microsoft film-making experts worked very closely with all communication staff in our centres to prepare a comprehensive and powerful video, illustrating the Career Pathways objectives aligned with the mission of Passerelles numériques. They travelled to our three centres, attending selection in Vietnam, classes in Cambodia and graduation in the Philippines. They helped us tell the story of our PNP Alumni Joan Villariaza, from the “dumpsite to the website”, and eventually delivered a moving 4-minute tribute to our staff, students and alumni, to our mission and to our collaboration with Microsoft.
Also, based on a Microsoft recommendation, Passerelles numériques’ General Managers have been interviewed in order to contribute to a research study on the future of work, led by The Asia Foundation. The objective is to produce a white paper and to organize a regional conference with policymakers and key stakeholders in September.
Finally, on Microsoft’s invitation, Passerelles numériques (represented by Trang VO, PNV General Manager, and Moritz LAQUA, PN Asia External Relations Manager) joined the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) workshop on Innovative Skills For An Inclusive Future Of Work In The Digital Age in Hanoi on July 18 and 19. Trang participated in a Panel discussion, sharing insights regarding PN’s experience on “Developing IT talents in Southeast Asia”.
Trang VO speaking during the APEC workshop
This is only the middle of the year 2019 and it has already been so intense in the field of our multidimensional collaboration with Microsoft, which we are very grateful and enthusiastic about.
Quoting Joan, “the nature of work is changing and I realize that with the right mindset, the right employers to engage with, it’s possible to take a different path, a different course, a different journey”.
We are confident that such an inclusive collaboration will shape and set examples for other future partnerships. We are convinced that multi-sector partnerships and inter-NGO collaborations will increase in number so that we can jointly build a digital economy that is accessible to the most underserved youth.