Microsoft to help SMBs develop digital skills with new initiative

Microsoft India on Thursday announced a new initiative to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) learn the right digital skills. The skilling initiative centralises all the company’s relevant skill-building resources and has been tailored specifically for the country’s SMBs.

As Microsoft pointed out in its announcement, the SMBs are the backbone of India’s economy, contributing to 30 per cent of the GDP and providing employment to over 114 million people. The lack of employee skills has been one of the biggest challenges for SMBs when it came to adequately respond to the pandemic and with a surge in digital experiences over this time, it is vital for these companies to learn how to use technology well for better customer engagement and efficiency.

“SMBs have been at the forefront of our country’s economic rebuilding following the pandemic and are facing immense pressure to keep up with the dramatic shift in how we work and live. It is critical that they are equipped with the skills that can help them develop long-term strategies for their business and reimagine new paths for their success. By providing these skill-building resources, we are fulfilling our commitment to creating an inclusive economy and helping SMBs transform and thrive,” said Harish Vellat, Country Head – Small, Medium & Corporate Business, Microsoft India.

Microsoft’s goal with this initiative is to make it easy for SMBs to find the skills they need to learn instead of having to look all over for it. “The flexible and accessible skill-building approach provides digital skilling resources via e-learning and online training assets from sources like Microsoft Learn and LinkedIn Learning,” Microsoft explained.

The dedicated resource hub, that’s already live, will give the businesses access to technical training, online workshops, etc, and also allow them to earn Microsoft certifications over the course. Focusing on skills that will help SMBs, the hub includes resources that focus on how to connect with customers and growing businesses, digital marketing, advertising and branding, customer relationship management (CRM), best practices for data protection and security, etc, so as SMB’s can learn to work more efficiently, save time, and also make the best of the skills they already possess.

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