Jean-Philippe Courtois - IDEA Center Opening
Remarks by Jean-Philippe Courtois, President, Microsoft International
Kiev, Ukraine
April 6, 2010
Thank you, Yaryna. It’s great to be here in Kiev to talk to you all about digital literacy and e-skills. These are two critical areas of investment for Microsoft here in Ukraine and in countries around the world. We made a bold commitment in 2006 through the launch of the European Alliance on Skills for Employability to provide access to technology and skills training for 20 million Europeans. Similarly, through our Students to Business program, we’ve provided training for 250,000 students in Europe over the past three years and established 15,000 internships and jobs at 3,000 partners. Our work in these areas is designed to equip people with the skills they need to use computer technology in everyday life to develop new social and economic opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities.
The best predictor of your opportunity in life used to be which country you lived in. That’s not true anymore. Today, the best predictor is whether you have access to education and knowledge via affordable and relevant technology. Today in Ukraine, only 20% of the population of 46 million people have access to ICT.
The analyst firm IDC recently conducted a survey of more than 1300 employers across 13 European countries, and what they found is that less than 10% of jobs will be available to people who have no ICT skills in the coming five years. So this effort isn’t just a “nice” thing we’re doing. We believe it is fundamental to advancement, for individuals, for businesses and for governments alike.
New developments on the horizon, such as cloud computing, will create jobs that have not even been contemplated today. The attainment of base-level skills and knowledge now will provide the building blocks for constructing new competencies necessary for the future. This is why Microsoft has invested more than €65 million in cash and in-kind programs related to skills over the last year through programs like Elevate America in the U.S., Britain Works in the U.K. and TvoyKurs in Russia. Those three programs alone have committed to providing e-skills training to 2.5 million people.
Microsoft began with a corporate mission to put a computer on every desk and in every home. Now, through our Unlimited Potential initiative, the company is weaving together new business models, technology solutions and advanced research to help solve critical pieces of the economic development puzzle. We do this in partnership with businesses, governments and developmental organizations around the world.
In late 2005, the world reached an important milestone, as Internet access became available to one billion people worldwide. Through initiatives like Unlimited Potential and our IDEA UkraineProject, we are working to bring the benefits of relevant, accessible and affordable software to 5 billion more people, with an initial milestone of reaching the next 1 billion by 2015.
What are some of those benefits? For one example, in societies where women have limited opportunities for direct social and business contact, access to computing skills can be life- changing. Ease of access to the Internet, e-commerce, and training provide education and skills that unlock the potential for a career and open up the door to global information and resources.
In developing economies where the role of parents or guardians may be a crucial component to supporting skills development among children, parental access to computing skills can have a significant positive impact on their ability to participate in their children’s education. So while helping people acquire skills for the job market is an important goal of our efforts in this space, we know that the downstream impact can be much greater.
IDEA Ukraine -- IDEA stands for Information Dissemination and Equal Access --first began in 2008 in partnership with a group called PH International who is represented here today by Mrs. Ivanna Reed, who you’ll be hearing from shortly. The project was designed to provide training in basic and job-related computer skills with the goal of increasing employability and marketability among underserved and disadvantaged populations. The centers are managed by non-profit organizations which cooperate actively with state unemployment centers and state education institutions. The work of IDEA Ukraine is especially urgent in times such as those we’ve all been experiencing lately with economicinstability, large layoffs, and increased competition in the labor market.
IDEA Ukraine has provided basic IT skills and Web design training to more than 16,000 job seekers at 15 IDEA centers across Ukraine since the program began in 2008. An additional 26,000 people have benefited from consultation or other services, including free Internet access, at these centers. Our goal is to expand to 24 centers, reaching an additional 50,000 people by the end of this calendar year. Knowledge and skills acquired during the training help IDEA trainees not only transform their lives but also contribute to the well-being and development of their local communities.We have the great opportunity in just a few minutes to hear from some of the IDEA program graduates about their experience in the program.
This concept of developing the local community and local economy is central to much of the work we do through Unlimited Potential. We focus on creating programs that can ultimately become self-sustaining. In the case of IDEA Ukraine, each center matches the value Microsoft’s investment with local investment, whether that’s through government funding of the actual office space, broadband connectivity provided by a local ISP, or employee salaries paid by other local sponsors. This model ensures that local government and businesses become invested in their long-term success.
The IDEA program is working. In our own research, we’ve found that more than 80% of IDEA graduates agreed that the knowledge they received helped them find a job or expand their professional qualifications. We’re very proud of that success rate, and are dedicated to working hard to drive that number up even closer to 100%.
To that end, I’m very pleased to announce today that we’re making an additional $100,000 investment in cash to further extend the work we’re doing through the IDEA Centers in Ukraine. Microsoft is deeply dedicated to the long term growth of the Ukraine market. In fact in 2009 alone, Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supported Ukraine with $55M of financial and software contributions for local schools, libraries, entrepreneurs, NGOs and other groups.
Our corporate mission, which as I mentioned began with putting a computer on every desk in every home, has now evolved to focus on helping people reach their full potential. We are hopeful that this investment we’re making today will help propel many citizens of Ukraine further down that path to realizing their full potential.
The provision of basic computing skills will lead to greater access—access to others, to education, to options. Programs and initiatives like IDEA Ukraine that drive this awareness of and connection to global knowledge by supporting basic computing skills development are essential to the ultimate economic and social health of both emerging and developed economies. This has been illustrated time and time again—that by benefiting one individual, we benefit a community, a nation, the world.
With that, I’d like to invite Mrs. Ivanna Reed up to the stage to present her with this check and Microsoft’s commitment to an on-going and deep partnership in IDEA Ukraine.
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