Microsoft Regional LATAM
In today’s digital-driven economy, digital skills are vital to succeed across sectors and professions. Meanwhile, many young people in Latin America lack the IT skills to be considered viable candidates for jobs in and beyond the IT sector. To address this digital skills gap, IYF has partnered with Microsoft to launch the Global Digital Skills Training Program in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. IYF´s core intervention model is built on our foundation life skills curricula, Passport to Success® (PTS), which is frequently combined with Technical Skills that are selected and developed according to growing local industries’ skills demand. Over the course of this three-year project, which serves 18,500 young people, IYF is integrating core components of Microsoft’s Digital Skills curriculum to complement existing programming in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools.
Through this program, IYF works directly with formal scholar systems in Mexico and Brazil. In Colombia, IYF engages second-chance youth, who are not included or have fallen out of the formal educational, labor systems or both. This program equips youth with the basic digital skills needed to succeed in the wider suite of IYF programs and increases their chances of employment.
"The classes have helped me find my goals, and because of that, I have been able to help my family realize that they have more job options, which has increased their confidence...and they have helped me plan my life better." -Alejandra Garza, 16, high school student in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
IYF is also introducing learners to different Skills for Jobs training resources and career essentials certificates for in-demand roles from the Skills for Jobs Pathways provided by Microsoft and Linkedin, so that young people can continue their skills development journey beyond their engagement with IYF. This initiative forwards the shared vision of IYF and Microsoft Philanthropies: to harness our combined expertise, resources, and advocacy to strengthen youth's livelihoods and employment opportunities through digital skills training.
