The pandemic has pushed the world into an involuntary shift to digital transformation. Workload could now be completed at home, given a stable internet connection and a sturdy machine. It is inevitable, because of this sudden change, that multiple jobs are lost due to redundancy. This is why LinkedIn and Microsoft offered more than 250 hours of free Digital Skill Programs to combat COVID-19 unemployment.

Risks of Digital Transformation

Due to the current health crisis, world governments have pushed thru stay-at-home orders to their citizens. Businesses are currently closed and public transport is currently suspended. Businesses needed to adjust to this rapid change without causing irreparable cuts to their profits and ensuring that the needs of the clients are continuously met. This meant that employees had to move their work to their homes.

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With the advent of connectivity and the further revolution of technology, it is inevitable that people would use the internet as a platform for working and studying. Work from home setups was originally feared to fail but, to the surprise of many, eventually yielded acceptable results. Employers realizing that many things could have been done ‘just online’ is both good and bad news. Thousands of employees in the world may never go back to a “physical office” and instead opt for a virtual one. It is good news since people would have more options for a work set-up. For working parents and students, this is a great opportunity to maximize time management. However, it is bad news as psychologists warn against the effects of this on the daily routines of people. It is said that it could create a grey, erasable line between “at work time” and “after work time”.

About the LinkedIn and Microsoft Digital Skill Programs

Soft Skills

Beyond just the technical know-how of this shift to digital transformation, LinkedIn and Microsoft also offered soft skills training. These include the following:

• Eleven Hours on “Finding a Job” 
  • “Finding a Job During Challenging Economic Times”. This particular learning module discusses the different steps on how to manage after being laid-off and creating career strategies. It provides lessons for resume building, video call interviews, and introduction to basic foundations.
• Nine Hours on “Self-Development”
  • “Master In-Demand Professional Soft Skills”. This syllabus trains an individual on how to work, listen and communicate well on an online platform.
• Nineteen Hours on “Basic Online Literacy”
  • “Digital Transformation in Practice: Virtual Collaboration Tools”. This teaches all the essentials and basics to Softwares and applications used in any digital employment (Microsoft 365, Outlook, Zoom, Google Drive, and more).
• Four Hours on “Communication, Psychology, and Ethics”
  • “Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging for All”. Transitioning into an online job would mean that the client market also expands. There are high possibilities of working with an individual from a different country with different languages and cultures to learn. This set teaches how to create an accepting, inclusive, and unbiased workplace.

Technical Programs

As employment shifted to digital transition, thousands of people all over the world lost their jobs. Manual labor are most affected by this. This is why learning digital technical skills are important. Here are the most in-demand digital jobs available in the market and the digital skills required:

• Graphic Design – Includes graphic design foundations and basics. This skills program teaches also typography, art, and color trends. Provides basic skills training for Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign Softwares.
• Financial Analysis – Learning how to interpret financial data and statements are in-demand right now. This teaches foundations on accounting, financial modeling, managerial economics, and more. Teaches finance basics for Excel.
• Customer Service Specialty – Providing support (via call, chat, or email) for different services and products are also in-demand. This lesson focuses on basic customer service skills, de-escalation, creating productive and positive conversations with clients, and more.
• Digital Marketing – Creating a website, a blog, or any social media presence can be done by anyone right now. Learning the works on SEO foundations, Google Analytics, Ads, and more are important and highly hirable skillsets.
• Project Management – Teaches how to form teams, develop team skills, and management of teams. Also teaches about budgets, schedules, and ethics.
• Software Development – Maybe one of the highest paying digital jobs today. Teaches foundation on programming and coding, HTML, CSS, Javascript, Python, Java, SQL, and more.
• Sales Representation – No better-paid job than in sales. Teaches soft skills, ethics, negotiations, and closing strategies.
• Data Analysis – Learning excel, data visualization, data representation, and teaches the Tableau software.
• CompTIA and CompTIA A+ Networks – Teaches network administration, IP Networking, TCP/IP, virtual, and cloud networks.

How Relevant are Digital Skills today?

To be able to adjust to digital employment, additional skills must be learned.  Developing a website or an ‘online presence’ for any business or individual is what makes up  Content management, graphic design, social media management, online marketing are also some very important jobs on the front end. Nowadays, blogging, content writing, gaming are also considered as professions.

Also Read: Blogging and Gaming Finally Recognized as Professions

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