This year Covid-19 has affected people, jobs and businesses small and large and in all industries. New ways are needed to bring people back to work or to be retrained into another area or industry. By 2025 there will be over 149 million new technology jobs ranging from IT support/helpdesk to data analysts and graphic designers. From statistics employer’s investment into employment-paid training has decreased from 19.4% in 1996 to 11.2% in 2008 and only 34% of employees are encouraged by employers to learn/train.
Microsoft have teamed up with LinkedIn and GitHub to announce a new campaign of ‘Digital Skills for 25M’. This campaign is looking at data and analysing the current job lose with the current pandemic and hot to guide people back into work. Microsoft and LinkedIn have made their learning services for free so people who have been affected by Covid-19 can learn new skills or updated their current skill set or knowledge to assist them back into work. In addition, after finishing the course a certification and badge will be given to place onto users profiles to tell future employers which training they have achieved.
Microsoft and LinkedIn learn are releasing a new app which will be integrated into Microsoft Teams which can allow everybody within a business to learn/train whilst working. For new employees this will help them find their feet and have the same training as other employees in the business. For managers this means that they can assign and track training that they are have put towards employees. Everything that has been announced are inclusive and accessible for everybody and at Akari this is what we strive for as a company.
At Akari we truly believe that digital transformation is more than licensing and software, it is how we use that technology to impact change and enable people experiences. As a team we work towards solutions and training internally and externally with a focus on inclusion and accessibility. As to bring success it means a level playing field for all and that everyone has equal access to what they need to succeed. We make a difference by using advancements with technology and by the passion we have for diversity, accessibility and inclusion to create solutions to help shape peoples experiences, therefore at Akari we have developed AVA out friendly virtual assistant bot.
AVA is a learning chatbot friend which can assist users with common queries and issues. It can be used to onboard staff, answer FAQs and ask for feedback. Using AI, we can identify where a user may require assisted learning or be provided accessible tools to help with certain tasks. As some disabilities are not visible sometimes this can hinder a person’s abilities within work, education and social environments. AVA works to change that, AVA is an intelligent learning chatbot that uses AI, sentiment analysis and cognitive learning to be a tool for people with and without hidden disabilities to help them meet challenges around collaboration, communication and access to services. Built on Microsoft Teams and hosted in Microsoft Azure, AVA allows users to interact in their own time, across multiple device choices in a way they can feel comfortable.
“We measure success by the impact we have in our customer organizations at Akari, we strive to make change with inventive and creative technologies that truly enable people’s experiences.” – Margaret Totten, Managing Director, Akari
To find out more about Microsoft campaign: msft.it/6017TlS6l
LinkedIn Learn: https://opportunity.linkedin.com/en-us
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/14006588
