On June 28, 2023, Microsoft and LinkedIn introduced the AI Skills Initiative, offering a free video library aimed at helping professionals new to generative AI apply it in their work. By December 2024, they expanded this offering to create the AI Skills Navigator portal. The Career Essentials in Generative AI program by Microsoft and LinkedIn includes five modules that feature videos, quizzes, and workbooks. Completing these modules grants a Professional Certificate in Generative AI, which participants can showcase on LinkedIn Learning. The program primarily focuses on Microsoft’s Copilot over competitors like Google’s Gemini and will be available in multiple languages at no cost until 2025. This training is part of Microsoft’s Skills for Jobs initiative, which also targets educators exploring artificial intelligence, with some content highlighting Microsoft Azure and Azure OpenAI. Generative AI skills are a top training priority for companies, with over 75% planning AI adoption in the next five years, according to the World Economic Forum.

Microsoft’s May 2024 Work Trend Index reported that 75% of knowledge workers use AI at work, though 53% worry it makes them replaceable, and 45% fear job loss. Meanwhile, 55% of hiring leaders are concerned about having enough skilled talent by 2025. To counter these concerns, Microsoft emphasizes AI upskilling, particularly through prompt engineering. According to Coursera’s COO, Shravan Goli, effective prompts are crucial for generative AI productivity, and ethical guidelines are necessary for responsible use.