The City of Chicago and Microsoft Corp., in collaboration with corporate, learning and community partners, announced the launch of Accelerate Chicago. The program aims to reach 300,000 Chicago residents to provide a pathway from skilling to employment for community members to bridge the digital skills divide and route people to diverse and equitable hiring and re-employment opportunities. Job seekers in Chicago can start their journey toward their career reinvigoration today, with programs, events, and opportunities available now at aka.ms/AccelerateChicago. 

Accelerate is fundamentally different from other skilling initiatives as the model is based on an ecosystem partnership that provides upskilling, re-skilling, and cross-skilling for in-demand jobs and a path to employment that supports their careers long term. Together, they are establishing a sustainable system that generates economic and community impact, targeted to community members susceptible to job displacement and unemployment: 

• Learning partners, including Dream Hustle Code, General Assembly, Goodwill Industries International, i.c.stars, Per Scholas, Springboard, Upwardly Global, Year Up, will help deliver the curriculum and drive delivery and execution of the skilling and credentials programs to provide tailored digital training that empowers job seekers for the next step in their career. 

• Microsoft is providing resources for mobilization globally, free courses across Microsoft Learn and LinkedIn aligned to the top 10 most in demand jobs and working to help 250,000 companies make a skills-based hire this year with LinkedIn. 

Accelerate Chicago is the latest U.S. implementation of Microsoft’s global skills initiative, an ambitious plan to help people worldwide acquire new digital skills and furthers recent commitments from Microsoft and LinkedIn to help 250,000 companies make a skills-based hire in 2021.