Microsoft’s corporate giving arm Microsoft Philanthropies is donating its $25.8 million to expand a job-training program run by the Markle Foundation.
The program, called Skillful, which was launched in Colorado in 2016, helps workers adapt to the changing workplace by offering them middle-skills training. Skillful offers coaches and online services to help job seekers learn what skills are in demand in today’s digital economy.
With the donation, Microsoft and the Markle Foundation hope to expand the program in Colorado and then replicate it across the U.S. “to help millions of Americans overcome barriers to obtaining better-paying jobs.”
The donation is the largest in Microsoft’s history, said Microsoft President Brad Smith. In 2016 Microsoft bought LinkedIn, a founding partner of Skillful.
