MVA, which is hosted entirely on Microsoft Azure cloud platform, enables IT professionals to take more than 200 Microsoft IT courses from anywhere in the world.
The training is provided by experts across 15 different technologies, including Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, HTML5, C# App Development, and other Microsoft technologies.
“We are offering this free continual learning opportunities because we (Microsoft) believe that IT professionals play an important role not just for their respective companies but also as an IT enabler for their customers,” Microsoft platform strategy director, Tim Park.
He was speaking at the Microsoft’s Tech.Days event, which saw the local launch of the MVA here. The Tech.Days event is an annual interactive gathering of local talents in software development.
Carlos Lacerda, Microsoft Malaysia managing director, said the company believes that talented, highly skilled-tech workforce equipped with practical and relevant skills is the foundation to attract Foreign Direct Investment and position the country as a regional and global hub for multinational corporations.
MDEC head of talent division, Muhammad Imran Kunalan Abdullah stressed that quality and not quantity was important, and the workforce must have the right talent and right skills.
Muhammad Imran said that Microsoft is also colloborating with MDeC for its the MyProCert programme to improve the quality of IT professionals.
"Through our MyProCert programme, Microsoft provides the professional courses and we (MDeC) provide funding for working professionals aspiring to acquire professional certification in the ICT industry,” said MDEC head of talent division, Muhammad Imran Kunalan Abdullah.
MyProCert covers two categories; Strategic Reform Initiatives (SRI) and Data Centre (DC), introduced as part of programmes under the national Economic Transformation Plan in transforming Malaysia into a knowledge drive, high value economy and developed nation by the year 2020.
Microsoft has existing programmes such as DreamSpark (https://www.dreamspark.com/) and YouthSpark (http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/youthspark/youthsparkhub/) which covers the high school and university level with grants, access to developer’s tools, and resources for educators in fostering youth talent development globally.
As for the business level, Microsoft has its BizSpark (http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/) programme which provides three years of free software, support and visibility for startups.
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www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com
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