Gov. Schwarzenegger and Microsoft, Team up to Provide Training to Californians

By: Livia Sappington

Gov. Schwarzenegger Unveils Partnership with Microsoft: Over 160,000 Vouchers will Provide Californians with Free Technology Training.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced that California will join forces with Microsoft to provide free technology training to thousands of Californians. This partnership is designed to combat the continuing growth of unemployment in the State.

As shown in a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, California had the fifth highest unemployment rate in the country in January 2010.

5 CALIFORNIA 12.5%

4 SOUTH CAROLINA 12.6%

3 RHODE ISLAND 12.7%

2 NEVADA 13.0%

1 MICHIGAN 14.3%

According to published report dated March 10, 2010 by the Employment Development Department’s Labor Market Division the unemployment rate in the State of California reached 13.2%, the highest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping unemployment records in 1976. The following eight counties reached unemployment levels above 20%:

Colusa County                27.4%

Imperial County              27.3%

Trinity County                  25.8%

Merced County               21.7%

Plumas County               22.3%

San Benito County         21.1%

Sutter County                  21.0%

Yuba Country                 20.4%

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in his State of the State address on January 1, 2010 before a joint session of the California legislature announced his California Jobs Initiative, a program to pump jobs into California by creating or retaining up to 100,000 jobs and providing training to 140,000 individuals to enable them to retain their current positions or compete for higher paying jobs. Today’s announcement will further the Governor’s efforts to put Californians back to work.

Through Elevate America, Microsoft’s innovative program to enhance the technical job skills of individuals across the country, California will receive 166,500 vouchers to distribute to Californians for free, online technology training and certification in Microsoft programs.

California will receive three types of vouchers from Microsoft: General e-Learning Vouchers, which are redeemable for free, online training on one Microsoft Windows Vista or Microsoft Office Suite program; IT Professional Learning Vouchers, which are intended for customers who are IT professionals interested in acquiring advanced level skills in areas such as web development or database management; and, Microsoft Certification Exam Vouchers, which are designed to enable a user to pursue a no-cost exam to become certified in one Microsoft program, such as Excel, Word or Outlook.

Governor Schwarzenegger Press Conference with Microsoft

“Creating jobs and boosting California’s economy is my number one priority, and that is why I am so excited about this new public-private partnership with Microsoft. These free training vouchers will enhance the technology skills of thousands of Californians and make them more competitive in the job market,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “It is so great to see a private company like Microsoft jumping into action to help people get jobs, and I urge the legislature to follow their example and pass my California Jobs Initiative. I introduced this job-creating proposal over two months ago, and each day the legislature fails to act is another day a California family struggles.”

The vouchers California will receive will be distributed through the state’s Employment Development Department through local One-Stop Career Centers within the 49 local workforce investment areas.

Microsoft Elevate America:
“Microsoft is committed to strengthening the U.S. economy and increasing global competitiveness by improving access to education and workforce readiness skills required for twenty-first century jobs. To support this commitment and as part of our Unlimited Potential program, we launched Elevate America. This initiative provides one million vouchers for Microsoft e-learning courses and select certification exams at no cost to recipients. Elevate America will be implemented in cooperation with states across the country as part of our overall effort to help train two million people over the next three years.” – Microsoft Corp.

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