Microsoft Cloud Skills Report:
Closing the Cloud Skills Chasm
Page
Introduction 1
The role of cloud skills in digital transformation 4
Finding appropriate skills 5
The value of certications 7
The Cloud Skills Chasm 8
The partner premium 9
The gender imbalance 11
Conclusion 15
How Microsoft is addressing the Cloud Skills Chasm 16
Cloud skills survey methodology 19
Contents
Introduction
We are moving, at pace, into the fourth industrial revolution, a period of time recognised by
the blurring of lines between physical, digital and biological worlds, underpinned by a range of
technological innovations. The arrival of the Internet of Things, advanced analytics, articial intelligence
and machine learning mean that organisations are having to fundamentally rethink how they engage
customers, empower employees, optimise operations and transform products and services. A raft of
disrupters have entered established markets and shaken established business models to their very
core, powered by mass-scale computing, unprecedented processing power and seemingly unlimited
storage. Organisations that were once the giants of their industries have become the also-rans whilst
start-ups have reached Billion-Pound valuations in as little as two years where it once took 20. Recent
technological innovations have levelled the playing eld for businesses in ways not seen since the start
of mechanisation.
Whilst this has created signicant challenges for established organisations, this forcing function has
made it imperative for organisations to think beyond their established business models. This in turn is
creating huge opportunities. Where Rolls-Royce sold aircraft engines it now sells ight miles; where RAC
was once a reactive roadside assistance organisation, it is now also a pre-emptive vehicle maintenance
service; McDonalds is serving drive-through customers faster and more accurately thanks to the use of
articial intelligence.
The digital transformation journeys that many organisations are embarking on are unique, each
presenting their own challenges. However, one commonality is the move to the cloud for some or all of
the technological platforms underpinning these transformations. As a result, many organisations face a
clear and present challenge that can stall their journeys – nding staff or suppliers with the appropriate
cloud skills to successfully accomplish their transformations.
It is to be expected that with the dawn of any new industrial revolution that it will take time to ensure
that there is a sufciently skilled workforce to meet the demand for people with those skills – factories
didn’t have a fully-skilled pool of labour at their disposal when machinery was rst introduced – but in
an era of mass globalisation, lower barriers to entry and customers who are less loyal than ever before,
the need to evolve business models and do so quickly has never been more critical. Those organisations
that are forced to stall their transformational journeys due to a lack of skills will nd themselves facing
signicant challenges. Indeed, they may nd that by the time they are able to meet the demands of
both customers and employees, the market has moved on, rendering them irrelevant.
This need to nd the right skills to drive digital transformations was the inspiration for this report – to
understand how UK organisations perceive the value of cloud skills, the challenge in engaging people
with the skills they need, either directly or indirectly, and their expectations on how the supply and
demand for cloud skills will change in the coming years.
To this end, we surveyed 250 technical leaders in the UK who are working within medium and large
organisations. Respondents were responsible for, or actively involved with, IT skills recruitment or the
technical evaluation of external providers.
A few key ndings of note from the pages that follow include:
• Cloud Skills are critical to transformational success: more than 80% of respondents think that
having the right cloud skills will be important or critical to their digital transformation;
• Finding the right people is a challenge: 38% of respondents who had been involved in
recruiting people with cloud skills in the past 12 months said it was difcult to nd the right skills,
potentially jeopardising the digital transformation programmes of more than 3,500 mid-large
UK organisations;
• Companies are upskilling their own staff to meet demands: the most common approach to
meeting cloud skills needs is to train existing staff (60%). However, more than half (53%) expect to
use external partners and almost half (46%) hope to recruit new people with cloud skills;
• Expectations on cloud skills availability are misinformed: a strong majority think it will be
about the same (30%) or easier (48%) to nd the cloud skills needed in two years’ time. Only 14%
think it will be harder. Data from a wide range of sources, however, indicate that the skills gap
continues to widen;
• The Partner Premium: a majority say that formal cloud certications are important (63%) when
selecting partners to provide cloud-based consulting or services. Furthermore, when engaging
staff for important cloud projects, almost half (48%) say they’d expect to pay more for resources
with relevant cloud certications;
• The Gender Imbalance: On average, respondents reported that the gender mix amongst
technical IT staff is 20% female, 80% male. More than half of respondents stated they had no
policy or plans in place to address this issue (35%) or didn’t know what actions were being put
in place (23%).
Each of the above ndings present organisations with signicant challenges – respondents believe
that cloud skills are a key component of their transformation journeys yet many struggle to nd
suitably skilled candidates. This in turn pushes up costs, either through training or paying a premium
for access to appropriately skilled workers, all whilst the gender balance remains woefully inadequate.
Furthermore, respondents’ expectations that these challenges will improve over the next two years
appear worryingly misguided and appear out of touch with reality.
This report provides readers with an opportunity to better understand the cloud skills landscape within
the UK as it exists today, the challenges that organisations will face in the years to come, and the steps
Microsoft is taking to help close the cloud skills chasm.
1 2
To understand the value of cloud skills to UK organisations, we asked respondents how critical they
consider cloud skills to their organisations’ digital transformation. Overwhelmingly, respondents
believe they will play a vital role, with 83% stating they are important or critical. A larger proportion
of respondents in organisations with 1000+ employees felt that these skills would be ‘very critical’
(32% vs 15%). This could well be due to larger rms being saddled with a broader tapestry of siloed,
legacy systems that require a signicant degree of re-engineering in order to become t for purpose
in a cloud-enabled economy. Interestingly, only 2% of respondents stated that their organisations had
no plans to become a more digital organisation, showing the extent to which British businesses are
embracing digital transformation strategies.
Will having the right cloud skills be critical to your organisation’s
digital transformation?
Q. In your opinion, how critical will having access o the right cloud skills be to your organisation’s plan to transform into a digital
business (or a more digital organisation )? (n=250)
The role of cloud skills in digital transformation
4
15%
32%
26%
26%
33%
31%
38%
21%
26%
14%
8%
10%
6%
6%
5%
250 – 999
1000 +
Total (unweighted)
Very critical
Critical Important Not particularly important
N/A (no plans to become a more digital org) Don’t know
With recruiting appropriately skilled staff proving to be a challenge for many organisations in the UK,
we asked respondents how they were planning to approach this issue in 2017. Despite the difculties
previously noted, almost half (46%) stated that they planned to recruit new people with cloud skills over
the coming 12 months. A larger proportion (60%) expected to train existing staff to develop cloud skills
and just over half (53%) stated they planned to use external partners for cloud skills.
Approaches in 2017 to meet organisations’ cloud skills needs
(multiple response)
Q. Which of the following approaches do you expect your organisation to take during 2017 to meet your need for cloud skills? Please
select all that apply. (n= 250)
Given the perceived critical nature of cloud skills on the digital transformation strategies of
respondents’ organisations, we then asked whether respondents had been involved in recruiting
people with cloud skills over the past 12 months and if so, how easy it was to nd people with the right
skills. Overall, almost a third had actively sought to recruit team members with cloud skills within the
last year. Of those, 38% of respondents found it difcult or very difcult, with a larger proportion of
organisations with 1000+ employees nding it more difcult. These numbers, if scaled nationwide,
present a signicant challenge of UK businesses – with almost 10,000 UK businesses employing more
than 250 staff, this could mean that over 3,500 organisations in the UK could be hampered by a lack
of qualied staff.
This problem is not just a challenge for the UK, it is a global phenomenon. As stated in our own book,
A Cloud for Global Good, if companies are to thrive in the digital, cloud-driven economy, the skills of
employees must keep pace with advances in technology. In Europe, a 2013 survey found that skills
shortages caused major business problems for a third of EU employers, whilst in the manufacturing
sector in the United States, as many as 2 million jobs could go unlled during the next decade because
of a shortage of people with the right technical skills. In China, McKinsey estimates that demand for
skilled labour could outstrip supply by 24 million people by 2020. Shortages like these pose serious
competitive issues for companies and threaten the long-term economic health of countries around the
world. More than that, they threaten to widen the income gap between those who have the skills to
succeed in the 21st century and those who do not.
Cloud skills recruitment – how easy was it to nd the right skills?
The median time to recruit the most recent cloud-skilled person (time from start of search till offer acccepted) was 8-10 weeks.
Q. In the past 12 months, have you been involved recruiting people into your organisation, where cloud skills and experience were
a key part of the requirements (permanent or contract)? (n=239, excl. DK) [Those involved in cloud skills recrutiment] Q. How
difcult or easy has it been, over the past 12 months, to nd the cloud skills your organisation was looking for? (n=74, excl. DK)
Finding appropriate skills
5 6
Total (unweighted)1000+ employees
52% 46%
65% 60%
58% 53%
Recruit new people
with cloud skills
Don’t know
250-999 employees
Train existing staff to
develop cloud skills
Use external partners
for cloud skills
None of these
N/A (no need for cloud skills)
33%
51%
44%
8%
5% 6%
9%
5% 6%
9% 8% 8%
32% 36%
10%
8%
6%
27%
30%
44%
37%
39%
4% 4%
2%
3% 4%
12%
18%
16%
31%
31%
68%
69%
69%
250 – 999 250 – 999
Recruited for cloud skills? (past 12 months) How difcult to nd the cloud skills needed?
1000 + 1000 +
Total (unweighted) Total (unweighted)
Very difcult
Yes
Difcult
No
Neither difcult nor easy
Easy Very easy Don’t know
Given the challenges that organisations currently face in recruiting cloud talent, we wanted to
understand respondents’ expectations on how the situation would change in the near future. The
responses suggest a signicant gap between perception and reality. Almost half of respondents (48%)
stated they believe it will be easier (34%) or much easier (14%), with 30% expecting the situation to
remain broadly similar to the challenges they face today. Projections showing the gap between the
number of people with cloud skills vs the number of roles available continue to show that this gap will
continue to widen for many years to come. For example, according to the Hays Global Skills Index,
last year marked the fth consecutive year of a rising UK skills shortage, particularly in the technical
engineering and specialist technology roles into which cloud skills fall. As such, the challenges of
nding people with the skills to enable organisations to bring their digital transformation strategies to
life are only set to worsen. The fact that this is only recognised by 14% of respondents should be a cause
for concern.
In two years’ time, will it be harder or easier to nd cloud skills?
Q. Thinking ahead to two years from now – do you think it will be harder or easier than it is today, to nd the cloud skills your
organisation will need? (n=236, excluding NA and DK)
The Cloud Skills Chasm
We also wanted to understand the value that certications played during the recruitment process.
Whilst a signicant minority (45%) felt that certications are a ‘nice to have’, more than a third of
respondents (35%) stated they are highly desirable or essential. This proportion of respondents
requiring certications appears to be surprisingly low – could this be a further symptom of the
challenges of nding people with adequate skills in the rst place? In a ercely competitive marketplace
where nding the right people regardless of ofcial certications is a challenge, are organisations
making do? Either way, with such a signicant number of responses ranging from ‘nice to have’ through
to ‘essential’, one thing is clear – those people that do have certications will enter the interview room
with an advantage.
How important are recognised cloud certications, when recruiting?
Q. When your organisation is recruiting for cloud skills, how important would you say are recognised cloud certications, when
considering different candidates? (n=228, excluding NA ‘don’t recruit cloud skills’)
The value of certications
7 8
29% 41% 10%9%
250 – 999
1000 +
Total (unweighted)
Much easier
EasierAbout the same HarderMuch harder
11%
10%
30%5%
4% 30%
30%
34%
16%
14%
11%
7%
8%
23%
29%
27%
39%
43%
45%
7%
11%
10%
11%
10%
11%
250 – 999
1000 +
Total (unweighted)
Essential
Highly desirable Nice to have Don’t knowUnimportant
How much more, if anything, would you expect to pay for relevant
cloud technical certications?
Q. Assume you were engaging technical staff (contractors or external developers/consultants) to work on an important cloud project
for your organisation. How much more, if anything, would you expect to pay for someone who was formally certied in the
relevant cloud technologies, compared to someone who had no relevant cloud certication? Please select which of the following is
closest to your view, in terms of a day rate or equivalent cost. (n=221, excluding NA ‘don’t expect to recruit for cloud projects’)
With heightened expectations placed on suppliers, we asked whether respondents would expect to pay
more for services delivered by external staff with relevant cloud certications.
Almost half (48%) of respondents stated that they would expect to pay a partner premium for working
with organisations that have relevant cloud certications, with less than a quarter (24%) stating they
would not. The additional daily rate respondents were comfortable paying ranged from less than £100
to more than £300 for each formally certied contractor, with a median of £100. For organisations that
provide cloud services, this premium could yield signicant returns if all members of customer-facing
staff held the relevant certications.
As mentioned previously in this report, more than half (53%) of respondents plan to use external
partners for cloud skills in the year ahead. We therefore wanted to understand how respondents
view the skillsets of these organisations and the value they place on cloud certications for
third-party resources.
In comparison to internal staff, respondents placed a higher importance on certications for suppliers.
Almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents felt that it was either ‘somewhat important’ (34%) or very
important (29%), with less than a quarter (23%) considering company-wide certications to be
unimportant. A further 61% felt that it was important for individual team members to be certied.
Importance of cloud certications when choosing partners –
company-wide certications
Importance of cloud certications when choosing partners – individual team
member certications
Q. When you think about choosing partners to provide cloud development, integration or other services (e.g. Sls or service
providers) – how important do you think both company-wide and individual team member cloud certications are?
(n=231 & n=229, excluding NA ‘don’t engage partners’)
The partner premium
9 10
25% 11% 10% 12% 26%
18%
21%
4%
6%
7%
10%
9%5%
7%
9%
12%
11%
16%
14%
23%
24%
250 – 999
1000 +
Total (unweighted)
Around £200
Don’t know
I’d expect to pay no more
Around £300
< £100
Over £300
Around £100
I would not recruit/engage without relevant cloud cert
5%
8%
7%
Total ‘pay more’ = 48%
32%
19%
28%
18%
29%
18%
35%
46%
34%
41%
34%
43%
20%
24%
25%
28%
23%
27%
13%
11%
13%
13%
13%
12%
250 – 999
250 – 999
1000 +
1000 +
Total (unweighted)
Total (unweighted)
Very important
Very important
Somewhat important
Somewhat important
Not particularly important
Not particularly important
Don’t know
Don’t know
Whilst the gender imbalance reported by respondents is concerning, the actions organisations are
taking to address this make for worse reading. A third of respondents stated that they have policies
in place to encourage female recruitment. However, more than a third (35%) of respondents said they
had no policies or plans in place to address this issue (which was as high as 46% for organisations
employing 250-999 staff). Almost a quarter (23%) of respondents said they didn’t know if any actions
were in place.
This is worrying. Evidence from a wide range of global sources suggests that addressing the gender
imbalance will derive signicant benets for global economies. A recent study by McKinsey & Company
suggests that narrowing the gender gap could add as much as $12 trillion to the global gross domestic
product (GDP) by 2025, equivalent to 11% of the world’s GDP. A global study by the Peterson Institute
for International Economics and EY suggests that an organisation with 30% female leadership can
Actions in place to improve female/male diversity mix
Q. Does your organisation have any targets, programmes or policies to improve the female/male diversity mix within your UK
technical workforce? Please select all that apply, if any. (n=237, excl. no technical staff)
With cloud skills at such a premium and the anticipated shortfall of available talent, this puts an
increased pressure on the cost of talent. If the cost of labour increases, companies can expect the cost
of transformation to increase in the coming years. Based on the responses, women are still chronically
under-represented. On average, the gender mix amongst technical IT staff was 20% female, 80% male.
Only 21% of respondents said the female mix within their organisation was 40% or greater.
Current female/male mix across organisations’ overall technical IT staff
Q. What would you say is the current female/male mix across all the technical IT staff in your organisation? (n=163, excludes those
with no technical staff and don’t know)
The gender imbalance
11 12
Specic diversity targets
in place today
Female recruitment
encouraged (as part
of a policy)
Other diversity policy/actions
None of these
Don’t know
2%
3%
13%
23%
46%
19%
4%
13%
38%
30%
25%
13%
33%
35%
23%
250 – 999 1000 + Total
Total (unweighted)1000+ employees
0%
50-59%
40-49%
250-999 employeesFemale mix
1-9%
60-69%
10-19%
70-79%
20-29%
30-39%
22%
0%
2%
22% 25% 24%
11% 7%
9%
21% 20% 20%
8% 26% 19%
16% 11% 13%
5% 5% 5%
5% 1% 2%
1% 1%
Median = 20%
Median = 20%
Median = 20%
increase protability by 15%. The National Center for Women and Information Technology in the US
reports that “gender diversity on technical work teams was associated with superior adherence to
project schedules, lower project costs, higher employee performance ratings, and higher employee pay
bonuses.” With substantial evidence suggesting the positive impact that a more diverse project team
has on project costs, timelines and performance, it raises the question: is the gender imbalance causing
UK businesses to miss out on the benets of digital transformation?
If the existing gender imbalance stems from a lack of candidates coming through the UK school system,
it’s important to examine the prospects for girls who could potentially pursue STEM-related careers. The
data here is also troubling. In another recently released report, Why Europe’s girls aren’t studying STEM,
Microsoft surveyed 11,500 girls and young women (ages 11 to 30) across 12 European countries about
their interest in STEM subjects. It found that girls across all regions start off with a high interest in STEM,
but that interest plummets steadily through their teens and then picks up again in their 20s.
In the UK, though, that interest falls through their teens but doesn’t fully recover through university
and into adulthood. The girls interviewed also said they would like to see more encouragement from
women with professions in STEM areas. Perhaps the most important nding from the study is that there
is a four-year window – between 11 and 15 – where we can get girls engaged and excited about careers
in STEM, and foster a lifelong love of these subjects. More must be done to demonstrate to this group
in particular that a career in technology and cloud services can be a creative, fullling and rewarding
career to pursue.
13
How Microsoft is addressing the
Cloud Skills Chasm
As we have discussed in this report, the UK’s digital economy is key to growth and competitiveness in
every sector. Whilst it is currently ourishing, creating jobs and contributing billions to the economy,
the country needs to tackle the serious digital skills shortfalls outlined in this report to ensure continued
success and prevent a signicant proportion of businesses falling behind.
Microsoft is working with government, educators, charities and industry to help the UK increase its
digital capability, and helping people gain higher skilled, higher paid work. The Microsoft Digital Skills
Academy seeks to address immediate and near-term skills needs through apprenticeships and skills
development programmes, as well as building a stronger future talent pipeline by supporting efforts
within the education system. This programme has three core objectives:
1. To build the future talent pipeline by increasing the tech skills of young people
2. To improve the ow of people pursuing digital careers
3. To equip UK PLC with vital Cloud skills
Building the future talent pipeline
Microsoft has a long-term commitment to supporting the UK on its journey to become a global leader
in Computing Education and supports a variety of programmes to help address this issue:
1. Encouraging young people to pursue careers in technology
The Microsoft Get On initiative seeks to inspire young people to consider a career with technology –
either with a tech company, or as a tech specialist in any industry. A team of undergraduate placements
students and apprentices from across the Microsoft business provide workshops in local schools, attend
careers fairs, and host information events at Microsoft ofces. Since 2012 they have reached over
40,000 young people.
2. Investing in diversity among those studying Computing Science
Microsoft runs two programmes designed specically to inspire young women and encourage them
to pursue a career in technology.
DigiGirlz: Over its eight-year history, Microsoft UK’s DigiGirlz programme has given over 2,000
schoolgirls aged 12-13 valuable insights into the life-changing opportunities that a career in the
tech industry can offer. DigiGirlz is a global programme which runs annually as a one-day event
each November at Microsoft’s UK Headquarters. The day is designed to equip the girls with a
better understanding of careers within this sector through thought-provoking exercises and
innovative product displays. DigiGirlz attendees have the opportunity to connect with Microsoft
employees and gain personal insights from them whilst participating in hands-on computer and
technology workshops.
Conclusion
The research underpinning this report demonstrates the scarcity of cloud resources within the UK and
the impact this is having on many organisations. Whilst the majority of respondents have identied that
Cloud skills are fundamental to their digital transformation journeys, many have struggled to identify
employees or partner organisations that can immediately offer the skills required. The implications of
this cannot be overstated. The fourth industrial revolution is enabling rapid and fundamental reshaping
of so many industries but we cannot allow thousands of businesses to be forced to sit on the side-
lines, watching whilst their competitors transform the competitive landscape and render their business
models redundant. It is one thing if an organisation fails to realise that a business model will no longer
continue to succeed because “we’ve always done things this way”, it is quite a different story if they
realise they need to evolve but are unable to access the skills necessary to make that transformation.
Yet the research ndings in this report suggest that this could be the fate of as many as 3,500 mid-large
businesses within the UK. At a time of great uncertainty, this further complicates an already delicately
balanced economic picture.
The degree to which respondents believe the challenge of nding appropriately-skilled staff will get
easier in the next couple of years is also surprising. A wealth of data from various sources indicates
that the gap between the number of people with Cloud skills and the number of roles available
has continued to widen in recent years and there is every indication that this is set to continue.
Organisations that are postponing transformation programmes in anticipation that there will be a
ood of newly-skilled individuals entering the workforce in the next couple of years would do well to
think again.
Whilst the data outlines the challenges that many organisations face, it should make for positive
reading for those interested in pursuing a Cloud career or for businesses that already offer Cloud
consultancy to other organisations. With demand outstripping supply, those equipped with Cloud
skills can be condent that their talents will be required for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, those
organisations with appropriate accreditations and employees that are able to furnish their CVs with the
latest Certications can also expect to command a premium for their services.
Perhaps understandably, many respondents are seeking to address these challenges by upskilling their
own staff, investing in training to bring their employees’ own cloud skills up to the levels required.
This is a sensible approach, though if organisations are to realise the value of the investments made
in their own staff, it is vital that they continue to offer challenging, inspiring and valued work for these
employees. If they fail to do so, these employees will take their newly acquired and much sought after
skills to an employer that does.
Perhaps the most worrying conclusion to be taken from the research is not the lack of gender diversity
within the Cloud skills market but the lack of appetite to address this issue. All evidence suggests that a
more gender-balanced workforce delivers better quality work, generates more value for an organisation
and in turn reaps better rewards. However, the research indicates that whilst the average gender split
amongst respondents’ organisations is 80:20 in favour of men, just 13% of respondents’ organisations
are actively seeking a more balanced mix. Organisations need to do more to address this issue, not
just because it’s the right thing to do for an equitable society, but because it’s a key component for
becoming a more successful business. But we must also do more as a society to fuel the pipeline of
young women leaving college or graduating from university with a passion for technology and a
realisation of the fullling, inspiring careers that cloud skills can enable. Until we do this, it may prove
impossible to close the Cloud Skills Chasm.
15 16
Improving the ow of people pursuing digital careers
Apprenticeships
In order to improve the ow of people pursuing digital skills, Microsoft is increasing commitments to UK
apprenticeships by driving 30,000 new apprenticeships by 2020. The Microsoft Partner Apprenticeship
Program has developed schemes which now account for one third of all IT apprenticeships in Britain.
Since its launch in 2010, more than 14,000 apprentices have started a tech career through this initiative,
across more than 8,000 employers. Microsoft’s investment in professional apprenticeship programme
design and oversight has enabled SMEs to engage in providing the types of quality apprenticeships
which they might struggle to build on their own.
In March 2017, Microsoft launched its Azure Apprentice programme, offering training in a range of
Cloud features, including the different ways it can be provided, how it can be used for developers and
web architects, as well as becoming an engineer. The Azure Apprentice programme is an extension of
the current apprentice programme and aims to enrol 1,000 apprentices within the rst year.
Microsoft has also teamed up with the National Apprenticeship Service as an Intermediary Partner,
helping to promote the benets of apprenticeships.
To nd out more about how to become a Microsoft apprentice or how you can hire one as an employer,
please visit: https://partner.microsoft.com/en-gb/Training/apprenticeships
Guidance from the UK government on how you can take on an apprentice is also available here:
https://www.gov.uk/take-on-an-apprentice
Traineeships
Microsoft also works with training provider QA to offer traineeships to young people from
disadvantaged backgrounds, giving them a chance to pursue a fullling career and tackle the UK’s
digital skills crisis. The programme provides trainees with a chance to learn and grow, time and support
to explore their employment interests, and opportunities to demonstrate their potential.
Modern Muse: Microsoft is also a partner of Modern Muse, a website designed to inform young
women about the working world, help explore subject choices and give them an idea of where those
choices may lead. It offers career inspiration, connections, and advice from Muses and the companies
they work for. Muses are successful women, from a variety of backgrounds and Modern Muse offers an
insider’s view of their day-to-day work lives.
To nd out how to partner with Microsoft on DigiGirlz events, please visit:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/diversity/programs/digigirlz
To nd out more about Modern Muse, please visit: https://www.modernmuse.org/#/
3. Supporting the teaching of computer science
Microsoft is a signicant supporter of the grass-roots community Computing At School (CAS). With
25,000 members – primarily teachers – CAS provides leadership, guidance and support around
Computing to any teacher or school needing it.
In 2016, Microsoft provided grant funding to support the development of resources for secondary
school leaders. Produced by BCS and Computing At School (CAS), the toolkit for school leaders
includes practical advice, guidance, case studies and action plans to assist teachers and their senior
leadership teams.
In addition, the Microsoft Educator Community is a personalised hub for teachers to connect,
collaborate, nd training and lessons, and earn badges and certicates. The training materials offered
online in the community are also used face to face by expert trainers and training partners and we
currently train over 10,000 teachers a month.
Microsoft’s Developer Experience (DX) team has also been engaging with both Faculty and Students
at some of the UK’s top universities, specically around classroom teaching, extra-curricular hacks and
events that focus on access to, and practical use of, Cloud services. This work has spanned from web/
application development through to machine learning and industrial projects.
17 18
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Equipping UK PLC with vital Cloud skills
In order to address the Cloud skills chasm in the UK, Microsoft has outlined its commitment to equip UK
PLC with vital skills. It will do so by:
1. Training 500,000 digital specialists by 2020
2. Training 30,000 public servants by 2020
3. Ensuring free, basic digital skills are available to everyone
This multi-year strategy will provide training in both everyday digital literacy as well as targeted efforts
to equip the UK’s public and private sectors with vital cloud technology skills.
Microsoft aims to train 30,000 UK public servants – for free – in a range of digital skills. This will enable
the UK government and public sector organisations to deliver better, more efcient, more modern and
transformative services to all people in the UK.
For individuals, Microsoft is offering free Azure training through a modern learning model called a
Massively Open Online Course, or MOOC. MOOCs are so much more than online videos and demos
– they incorporate videos, labs, graded assessments, ofce hours, and more. The MOOC catalogue is
continually being added too and ranges from introductory courses through to specialist topics such as
DevOps testing.
Completing a MOOC is one way to learn vital cloud skills, but other options are available. Microsoft
Certied Professional (MCP) exams remain a respected and recognised designation of cloud capability.
Those wanting to accredit their skills in a single area can purchase a single exam, retake, and practice
test for $99. Those looking to demonstrate a broader Cloud mastery can purchase three exams, retakes,
and practice tests for $279, a major discount from market value. Microsoft also partners with the Linux
Foundation to offer an optional add-on discount toward Linux certication. For more information,
please visit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/azure-skills-training.asp
For start-ups and entrepreneurs, Microsoft offers support via its BizSpark programme. A one year
programme, BizSpark makes all Microsoft development and test software available for free, including
Azure, Windows, Visual Studio, Ofce and SQL Server. Members of the programme can also take
advantage of hundreds of free training classes, technical content, and break-x phone support to help
them on their journey. Organisations qualify if they are less than 5 years old, privately held, and earn
less than $1 million annually. For more information, please visit: https://bizspark.microsoft.com/
Cloud skills survey methodology
An online survey was elded to qualifying respondents by YouGov on behalf of Microsoft. Fieldwork
took place during December 2016 with 250 completed survey responses achieved. All respondents were
employed in a full-time IT role in an organisation with at least 250 UK employees. Respondents had to
be responsible for, or actively involved with, IT skills recruitment for their organisation or the technical
evaluation of external providers (consultants, systems integrators, solution/service providers etc).
Microsoft was not revealed as the survey sponsor.
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