Britain Works

Microsoft believes Britain Works!

Microsoft has always realised the importance of ensuring that people have the necessary skills to enable them to engage in the digital society. Our community investment work has focussed on providing access to these skills for the UK. With currently 77% of all jobs requiring some form of computer skills, we recognise the importance of IT skills in bridging the digital divide.

Microsoft has seen firsthand the vital role these skills play in enabling greater employment opportunities while running an IT skills programme in the Black Country. Working with a network of 135 community-based learning centres, we have provided access to IT skills training for 28,000 people over the last three years, enabling thousands to find employment. The project also included a pilot Partner Apprenticeship programme, where unemployed people were trained as technical support and engaged as apprentices by Microsoft’s SME partners in the West Midlands.

Apprentices for Partners – How it works?
The Microsoft Partner Apprenticeship was designed for and developed with Microsoft Partners to improve the capability of the partner network and add a stream of new ICT recruits, particularly trained staff or apprentices in the past due to the perceived barriers to entry.

The concept focuses on Partners clustering together in regional areas, which will enable you to benefit from collective recruitment and purchasing power

The programme aims to:
• Harness the power of collaboration to reduce total costs and provide a richer learning experience for the apprentices
• Allow Microsoft Partners (particularly SME’s) to engage in ICT apprenticeships in a way that was not previously possible
• Allow all Microsoft Partners to actively recruit the apprentices as full-time employees on day one of the apprenticeship
• Provide an intensive learning period at the start of the programme to ensure apprentices are up-to-speed sooner than in traditional one day per week apprenticeship models.

Learn more about Microsoft's Britain Works Apprenticeship