Microsoft has announced the launch of a programme for developing digital literacy, digital skills and cloud skills across the UK.
The programme aims to reach more than 560,000 people by 2020 through the development of digital apprenticeships, digital literacy programmes and training to develop cloud tech experts.
Cindy Rose, Microsoft’s UK CEO, said one of the aims of the programme is to increase the number of people with cloud skills in the UK to meet the need that will be created by disruptive technology innovation.
“We believe maintaining the UK’s global competitiveness relies on a successful transition to a cloud-enabled economy. At Microsoft, we aim to do our part by investing back into the UK digital economy to ensure people of all ages and backgrounds are equipped with the skills necessary to thrive into the future,” said Rose.
As the need for cloud technologies has increased, so has the need for people with cloud skills – but the UK is lacking in skilled technologists across the board.
As part of this cloud focus, Microsoft will use its Cloud Skills Initiative to train 500,000 people in the UK to be cloud technology experts.
Employees in technology roles and companies are not the only people in need of digital skills as more roles become dependent on the use of technology, and many adults in the UK still lack the basic skills needed to function in the modern world .
Many public sector employees also struggle with digital technologies , and Microsoft’s research has found only 35% of those working in the public sector think they have a digitally literate leadership team.
As part of Microsoft’s digital skills programme, the firm plans to offer free online digital literacy training to the entire UK population, as well as train 30,000 UK public servants in how to deliver digital services to citizens.
Apprenticeships have been flagged as a good way to fill tech skills gaps across the UK, as employers can upskill and mould apprentices to fit the necessary roles.
Microsoft will create 30,000 digital apprenticeships roles on its existing apprenticeships programme to increase the number of people learning on-the-job digital skills.
“Microsoft sees digital apprenticeships as a vital tool to address the skills shortage in the UK and ensuring the UK’s competitive advantage. This is not just about the numbers of people acquiring these skills so necessary for the future, but also about attracting and supporting a diverse range of people,” said Rose.
The firm has exceeded its original 2012 target of training 4,000 digital apprentices and has worked with 25,000 partners across the UK to train 11,000 digital apprentices.
Ensuring the UK has workers with appropriate digital skills is one of the key focuses of the technology industry over the next five years, especially in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) .
“In the wake of the EU referendum vote, the UK is looking at charting a new and different path to its future. Microsoft is committed, as it has been for more than 30 years, to helping the UK realise its full potential,” said Rose.

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The revelation of improper accounting practices, sales, purchase, factoring and leasing transactions at BT’s Italian business has seen the telecoms and services giant’s pre-tax profit for the third quarter to 31 December plummet by 37% year-on-year to £526m.
News of the scale of the scandal – which has been under investigation by forensic auditors at KPMG since the summer of 2016 – broke on 24 January 2017 , when BT revealed it was trebling an existing write-down on the Italian unit to £530m.
BT’s shares lost more than 20% of their value as a result of the news, which has also cost Corrado Sciolla, the head of its European operations, his job.
“The good progress we’re making across most of the business has unfortunately been overshadowed by the results of our investigation into our Italian operations and our outlook,” said BT chief executive Gavin Patterson.
“We’ve undertaken extensive investigations into our Italian business and I am deeply disappointed with the unacceptable practices by some that we’ve found. This has no place at BT, and it undermines the good work we’re doing elsewhere in the group,” he said.
Among some of the bright spots overshadowed by the scandal were a 32% bump in group-wide revenue to £6.13bn, record growth at EE, and the highest ever fibre-based broadband net connections in Openreach , at close to half a million.
However, BT said it still faced significant headwinds in its public sector and international corporate businesses. As a result of these pressures, it expects underlying revenue and earnings (excluding EE) to be roughly flat for the upcoming 2017-18 financial year.
BT also noted the impact of the UK’s Brexit vote, which has caused volatility on revenue and cost thanks to the weakening of sterling, alongside uncertainty around the nature of the UK’s future trading relationships with the European Union (EU).
Kester Mann, senior analyst – operators at CCS Insight, said it was inevitable that BT’s results would be overshadowed by the Italian job and the public sector slowdown, but added there was much to be encouraged by, such as the strong results from EE and Openreach.
“Nevertheless, sentiment from the results is likely to be downbeat with the Italian fiasco adding to a growing list of challenges,” said Mann.
“These include a huge pension deficit, the ongoing battle with Ofcom over the future structure of Openreach, escalating costs to win lucrative TV sports rights and increasing competition in the UK multiplay market,” he said.

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TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese games company Bandai Namco says Masaya Nakamura, the « Father of Pac-Man » who founded the Japanese video game company behind the hit creature-gobbling game, has died at age 91.
Nakamura, who died on Jan. 22, held an honorary position at Bandai Namco, formed in 2005 from a merger of two game companies. He founded Namco in 1955. Its beginnings were humble — just two mechanical horses on the rooftop of a department store.
Pac-Man, designed by video game maker Toru Iwatani, went on sale in 1980. Guinness World Record has named it the world’s most successful coin-operated arcade game.
Bandai Namco reported Nakamura’s death Monday, but would not comment on the cause of his death or other personal details, citing his family’s wishes.

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