Editor’s Note: This is the second in a 4-part series of blog posts reflecting on the evolution and impact of Microsoft’s Community Technology Skills Program. To read more, please visit:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftupblog/.
When Microsoft first began working on strategies to increase access to technology in underserved communities, we assumed that the most successful programs would be those run by nonprofits with a track record of success operating community technology centers and ICT skills training programs.
It was a logical assumption, but, as we learned, not necessarily a correct one. In the eight years since we launched
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Editor’s Note: This is the second in a 4-part series of blog posts reflecting on the evolution and impact of Microsoft’s Community Technology Skills Program. To read more, please visit:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftupblog/.
When Microsoft first began working on strategies to increase access to technology in underserved communities, we assumed that the most successful programs would be those run by nonprofits with a track record of success operating community technology centers and ICT skills training programs.
It was a logical assumption, but, as we learned, not necessarily a correct one. In the eight years since we launched the Community Technology Skills Program, the NGOs that have proven to be the strongest and most effective partners are those with a well-defined social mission and those focused on meeting specific local needs.
What we have seen is that such organizations are better equipped to design programs that prepare people with skills relevant to the local economy. And programs that are locally relevant are more likely to be embraced—and therefore effective—within the community.
In Portugal, for instance, the Technological Centre for the Textile and Clothing Industries (CITEVE) has been working for more than two decades to increase ICT proficiency among textile workers. Faced with intense competition from lower-cost producers in other countries, Portugal’s textile industry has been forced to shed thousands of jobs.
In 2006, Microsoft helped CITEVE establish four technology skills training centers in central and northern Portugal, where the nation’s textile industry is centered. In addition to providing textile workers with the computer skills they need to keep up with the industry’s increasing use of technology, the training program helps displaced workers gain other skills—such as career planning and resume writing—that will help them find jobs in other sectors of the economy.
In the Philippines, we formed a partnership with the Visayan Forum Foundation Inc. (VFFI) to address another important local issue: helping victims of human trafficking learn skills that can set them on the road to a better life. VFFI operates a network of safe houses for women and children who have been victims of forced labor or sexual exploitation or who are at risk of being victimized. In 2006, Microsoft and VFFI launched a program called Stop Trafficking and Exploitation of Persons through Unlimited Potential (STEP-UP), which combines technology training with other courses in life skills and job skills. In addition to opening new economic and educational opportunities for those who complete the program, the STEP-UP training helps trafficking victims by building their confidence and self-esteem. Since the collaboration began, more than 30,000 individuals have graduated from the STEP-UP program, and Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, president of VFFI, has told us that the program helped participants reintegrate into society and made them more employable.
In Kenya, Microsoft partnered with an NGO called the Informal Sector Business Institute (ISBI) to help shift the country’s informal, cash-based economy—which supports 80 percent of Kenya’s working population—to a more sustainable and stable business model. With support from Microsoft, ISBI launched a 50-hour computer skills training course to complement its classes in accounting, management, marketing, and business English.
In the U.S., one of Microsoft’s key partners is Per Scholas, a nonprofit organization that equips people in underserved communities with the skills necessary to compete for entry-level ICT jobs. Per Scholas offers a tuition-free 15-week computer technician training course that emphasizes hands-on experience. It also teaches students how to repair donated computers, which are then sold at low cost to disadvantaged youth and families in the New York City and Miami areas. More than 2,400 Per Scholas graduates have earned ICT industry-recognized computer technician certifications, and Per Scholas has provided refurbished PCs to more than 72,000 low‑income people.
Each of these organizations – in Portugal, the Philippines, Kenya, and the U.S. – exemplifies the impact that organizations can have meeting local needs with the use of technology and support from companies like Microsoft.