Microsoft President Wants More Training for Workers To Fight Climate Change (bloomberg.com) 34
Microsoft President Brad Smith is calling for companies, schools and governments to dramatically increase training workers for new and redesigned roles tackling the climate crisis. From a report: The software giant, which has pledged to remove more carbon than it emits by 2030, says the lack of skills in areas like carbon accounting, green procurement and supply chain management is a threat to the kind of progress needed to arrest global warming. The company, along with the Boston Consulting Group, studied 15 companies they said were leading the pack in sustainability innovation to produce a report on what's needed. Microsoft plans to develop and share more training resources through its LinkedIn business, work with United Nations and International Monetary Fund groups and NGOs, as well as convening a conference of corporate chief sustainability officers to share best practices.
As you see it, what is the challenge?
Brad Smith: Roughly 3,900 companies around the world have signed up for climate pledges. But what we're finding as a leading technology provider to these companies, is that we all now need to figure out how to turn these pledges into progress. That's easier said than done. It takes a real revolution in different business processes and in the use of digital technology as core components. But foundationally, it all relies on building a more skilled workforce.
How do we we know we have a shortfall in these types of skills?
LinkedIn did a study a year ago -- what it showed was that the number of jobs in the economy that require sustainability skills is growing by 8% a year but the number of people in the workforce that have these skills is growing by only 6% a year. So we're seeing a gap, and in fact, we're seeing a widening of this gap. When we entered the digital era, we needed to bring computer science into schools and we needed to bring digital fluency into the workplace. When we've reviewed the data, employers around the world really invested more in employee training between 1980 and 2000. Computers entered the workforce -- people needed to be trained how to use them. But we saw employer investments in employee training really declining after the year 2000 and have been stagnating ever since. We're going to need to reinvest in employee training.
As you see it, what is the challenge?
Brad Smith: Roughly 3,900 companies around the world have signed up for climate pledges. But what we're finding as a leading technology provider to these companies, is that we all now need to figure out how to turn these pledges into progress. That's easier said than done. It takes a real revolution in different business processes and in the use of digital technology as core components. But foundationally, it all relies on building a more skilled workforce.
How do we we know we have a shortfall in these types of skills?
LinkedIn did a study a year ago -- what it showed was that the number of jobs in the economy that require sustainability skills is growing by 8% a year but the number of people in the workforce that have these skills is growing by only 6% a year. So we're seeing a gap, and in fact, we're seeing a widening of this gap. When we entered the digital era, we needed to bring computer science into schools and we needed to bring digital fluency into the workplace. When we've reviewed the data, employers around the world really invested more in employee training between 1980 and 2000. Computers entered the workforce -- people needed to be trained how to use them. But we saw employer investments in employee training really declining after the year 2000 and have been stagnating ever since. We're going to need to reinvest in employee training.
He smells money (Score:4)
That means getting your dev teams and sales teams thinking about it, even though half the news media is telling them climate change is a myth.
Re:He smells money (Score:5, Insightful)
So who's going to pay for that? (Score:4, Interesting)
Okay, when are corporations going to pay for that to happen like they used to, which is how it used to happen? Endowing schools, paying for training, mentorship, apprenticeship, all are in short supply today.
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Is there hope? (Score:5, Informative)
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2020, when COVID brought an end to aviation, tourism, the cruise industry...
This did happen, mostly. Air freight kept going obviously. Tourism and most other air travel did all but stop, however.
hell... when everyone sat inside and did nothing for 6 months out of the years.. the CO2 graph at Mauna Loa shows no change in the rate of increase.
This never happened. Some of the world didn't change habits much at all, but even in parts of the world where a lot of things changed, a lot of things stayed the same. Goods were still shipped, a number of industries actually picked up (like the RV industry) and people still went places, just not to work as much. The wholesale conversion of the Amazon into ash proceeded apace.
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And still, the High Priests of AGW still claim that volcanoes aren't a significant factor in rising CO2 levels, just like they spent years claiming that the Early Mideival Warm and the Little Ice Age either didn't happen, or only affected Europe and North America. With all of this denial of facts, I don't understand why anybody still believes their claims that all climate change is man made! Yes, the climate is changing, just as it
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Re: Is there hope? (Score:2)
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Re: Is there hope? (Score:2)
THERE IS HOPE!!! (Score:2)
But there is hope! Huge âplanet killerâ(TM) asteroid discovered â" and itâ(TM)s heading our way [theguardian.com]. It will all be fine...
Re: Honk Honk (Score:2)
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...and why are we in this handbasket?
Ah yes, the response of all big companies (Score:3)
Quick ! Look as if we're doing something !
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He is asking to end up in a Dilbert cartoon
SEO space filler thread, why is this news? (Score:2)
Yahoodot editors just can't help it.
Limit software releases that require upgrades (Score:5, Insightful)
Midterm exam question (Score:2)
MS could take action on this too... (Score:4, Insightful)
By going 100% work from home.
sustainability skills? (Score:2)
Not running a bitcoin miner on company equipment?
Optimizing your code?
I'm really at a loss as for what they could mean by "sustainability skills" for software developers. And I'm not an earnest member of the Nuke the Whales club.
I guess I need some edumakayshun on the matter.
Delusional (Score:3)
Delusional goals to win points with delusional people.
Windows 11 is totally fighting climate change (Score:3)
Windows 11 allows me to delay windows updates until the middle of the night to use power when the grid is less stressed, thereby reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change!
I feel like such a climate fighter now...
So... Train your employees to do these jobs? (Score:2)
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He feels climate change is important... but not as important as his bonus.