- Thanks, Brad.
Hi, I'm Ryan Roslansky
and I'm the CEO of LinkedIn.
I couldn't be more honored to be here today
to talk about our goal to bring digital skills
to 25 million people.
We're committed to helping those who have lost their job
due to the COVID-19 pandemic
get the new skills they need to land their next job.
And the Microsoft ecosystem is uniquely positioned
to help people connect opportunity.
But finding opportunity isn't just about
searching for a job.
As Brad mentioned,
job seekers and the government agencies who support them
need the access to the data
to help identify where employment opportunities exist,
the accessible tools
to effectively develop relevant skills,
and the ability to demonstrate those skills
to organizations who are hiring.
In order to achieve our ambitious goal,
we've created one place for people to go to.
Opportunity.linkedin.com.
We've built this site by tapping into resources
across the Microsoft ecosystem
from LinkedIn and LinkedIn Learning
to Microsoft Learn to GitHub Labs.
And we start this process
by navigating the uncertainties objectively as possible
with insight into real-time skilling trends.
And for that, we turn to LinkedIn.
You may know LinkedIn as that app on your phone
with your professional identity and community.
But behind those profiles, companies, and connections
is a real-time digital representation
of the professional world,
iving us insight into workforce trends and skills demand.
By digitally mapping over
690 million professionals,
50 million companies,
11 million job listings,
36,000 skills
and 90,000 schools on LinkedIn
we're able to spot trends
like in-demand skills, emerging jobs
and global hiring patterns.
We call this the economic graph.
These insights help us connect LinkedIn members
to open opportunities.
And we're excited to begin offering
some of our labor market insights
to policymakers and the public
to help understand what jobs and skills
are in demand per region.
This labor market insights tool
includes data on what companies are hiring,
the top jobs companies are hiring for,
and the skills needed for those jobs.
The data is available and downloadable
for more than 180 countries and regions,
and you can access this tool at opportunity.linkedin.com.
For example, the data shows us
that a remote everything world
has shined a light on the importance of
both digital skills and soft skills.
We've seen an increase in the need for digital skills
and it's being accelerated by the pandemic.
Since March, web and video conferencing skills are up 525%.
And Microsoft Teams as a skill is up 500%.
Professionals are hungry to learn
the latest ways to stay in touch with their colleagues,
even while physically apart.
On the soft skills front,
we've seen the skills of collaboration
and people management accelerate.
Given the complex and challenging work situations
that many of us are facing,
it's no surprise that employers
are looking for professionals
to help them lead through change
by sharpening critical soft skills.
And also, as we work towards a more equitable future,
professionals are more than ever
investing in their own learning
to understand and confront bias,
communicate about topics of difference,
and show up as allies
to build a more inclusive workplace and society.
Based on this data and these trends,
we're making for learning paths from LinkedIn Learning
available for free.
LinkedIn Learning is our broad base skilling platform
with more than 16,000 video-based courses
across business, technology, and creative topics.
All taught by industry leading experts.
First, we have the digital fluency learning path.
We're making it easy to learn video conferencing
and Microsoft Teams among other skills.
Then we have the critical soft skills learning path
with content that helps improve
communication and collaboration among teams.
Next, we have a diversity, inclusion, and belonging path
that also touches on some of those
critical skills of communicating
and understanding bias
that help create inclusive work environments.
And, finally, we have a job seeking best practices path
to help job seekers
prepare for roles in the digital economy
and manage their job seeking process more effectively.
These learning paths are now available for free.
The economic graph also gives us visibility
into jobs that are most in-demand globally.
By looking at jobs that
have the greatest number of openings,
have had steady growth over the past four years,
pay a livable wage,
and require skills that can be learned online
we've identified 10 jobs
that are accessible to those seeking employment,
giving individuals and governments
a compass for where to begin.
Today we're also making 10 LinkedIn Learning Paths
aligned with these roles available for free.
For example, check out the graphic designer path.
Each learning path includes a sequence of video content
aimed at helping individuals broadly develop
the core skills needed for any given role.
These learning paths are available
in English, French, Spanish, and German.
Given the rise in demand for skills,
for digital skills especially,
and for roles that are more technical in nature,
we have Microsoft Learn that combines
short step-by-step training
with interactive coding and scripting
to help learners go deep on Microsoft technologies.
Microsoft Learn content
also helps learners prepare for Microsoft certifications
so they can gain industry recognition for their skills.
Through the end of the year,
we're significantly discounting the exams
for these certifications
for those impacted by COVID-19.
And we'll also enable job seekers pursuing developer roles
to access the GitHub Learning Lab
to practice their skills.
GitHub Learning Lab is a bot-based learning tool
that uses a repository to teach
technology, coding, Git, and GitHub
via real life demo-based modules.
This means that as job seekers engage in learning paths,
they'll have the opportunity
to practice newly acquired skills
by completing realistic projects
in a personalized GitHub repository.
And using our free tools to learn
is the most important part.
But once you've learned those skills,
we've made it simple for you to add them
to your LinkedIn profile.
This will help you be found by the millions
of recruiters and hiring managers
who are searching for talent on LinkedIn.
And speaking of being found,
I'm very excited we've launched our new feature
called open to work.
It harnesses the power of the LinkedIn community
to help the large unemployed population
that Brad talked about be found for work.
Take Daisy, who's a LinkedIn member.
She was just laid off her job as a customer success manager.
She's discovered a way on LinkedIn
to indicate to the community
that she's looking for work.
And once Daisy has this on her profile,
a green circle appears to let her network
know how to help her.
Daisy can also proactively share with her network,
and people can click to see what she's looking for
and message her to offer support.
And when job seekers get to that critical interview phase,
we want to help them demonstrate their skills
through effective interviewing.
So we're offering free interview prep tools,
including a newly launched feature
leveraging Microsoft AI
for real-time feedback on your answers.
Take Michael, a job seeker who can now record a video
of himself practicing an interview.
Then in real-time,
he can get feedback on things like
his speech patterns,
the filler words he uses,
and some tips to improve his answers.
I am honored and excited to be part of this initiative,
and will continue to focus our team on those we can help.
By working together
and helping those whose jobs have been impacted
by the COVID-19 economic crisis,
we can make a difference right now
in the workforce, in the economy,
and in our everyday lives.
And there's no better way to bring to light
the power reskilling can have on the world
than with this video from one of our learners.
- I have always been a visual artist.
I was thinking of pivoting my career
as the world around me became more digital.
I wanted a way to learn that with accessible,
since I have hearing loss.
That's when a friend recommended LinkedIn Learning.
I immediately started taking courses.
And with these skills,
I was able to start a business venture
that I'm really passionate about.
I never thought a busy mom like me
could switch careers so quickly,
but I did thanks to LinkedIn Learning.
(light music)
- To learn more about any of these features
we just talked about,
visit opportunity.linkedin.com.
And now, Brad, back over to you.