The Marion Technical College Foundation was given $10,000 by Microsoft Philanthropies to serve as competition prize money for a whoever takes the most free online classes in job skills.
The “UpSkill-A-Thon” allows anyone – not just Marion Tech students – to register in one of three categories and take free online classes between Oct. 17 and Nov. 16 to earn points. The individual or team with the most points at the end of the month could earn up to $2,000 in prize money.
The goal of the competition is to encourage local workers to continue their education and training for in-demand skills through the online courses. This is intended to build a more skilled workforce in a digital economy.
Microsoft approached Marion Tech to launch the program called Community Skills Initiative Marion Tech to facilitate the UpSkill-A-Thon competition and encourage workforce development among local job seekers, students and professionals.
According to America’s Program Development Capital (AWDC) Program Manager Tami Galloway, who will be the program lead for CSI Marion Tech, the partnership seemed too good to be true at first, but now the staff hopes it will bridge gaps in training brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The whole object is nobody did training for two years, and we’re trying to ramp up the upskilled people and ramp up job skills,” Galloway said.
“It’s a great opportunity to refresh skills you already have or up the skills you have been wanting to gain, and it’s free.”
The three categories of the competition are an individual 16 to 24 years, an individual 25 or older and teams of 2 to 4. Participants can win $1,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place and $500 for third place in the individual competitions.
Teams can win $2,000 for first place, $1,500 for second place and $500 for third place.
After registering through the UpSkill-A-Thon site, participants will complete the courses and upload the certificates to the site to earn 1 point for each completed course and 10 points for each completed “pathway,” which is a group of courses in a particular field.
Whichever individual or team has the most points in each category wins the grand prize.
Microsoft first launched a global skills initiative in 2020 due to training challenges from the pandemic and the increasingly digitized workplace environment. It now has nine community skills initiatives across the country including the partnership with Marion Tech.
Dr. Amy Adams, vice president for planning and advancement at Marion Tech, said the partnership aligns with the college’s mission to bring people and technology resources together.
“When Microsoft approached us about a digital skilling grant for non-profits, we jumped at the opportunity,” she said. “This is a program that will bring valuable online resources to our community and those impacted by COVID-19.”
For more information about the UpSkill-A-Thon, visit the Community Skills Initiative Marion Tech website.
Story by: Sophia Veneziano (740) 564 – 5243 ∣ [email protected]
