Microsoft is already offering attractive discounts to students on their products and services. The company is actively working in the education sector by providing attractive options related to its services not just to students, but to institutions as well. In a recent move, the company signed a deal with the City University of New York (CUNY) to offer students with free Office software to help them with their jobs.
There are over 480,000 students enrolled in the City University of New York, making the gift deal worth over $500 million. This would help the students to get used to the Office suite which is widely used in the companies. Students will be able to download up to five copies of Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
“They will be able to master a program that is widely used in the workforce,” said Mark-Viverito, who helped set up the donation. “It makes students who are looking for work more competitive, more attractive to potential employers.”
“The skills gap is very real,” Microsoft’s Richard Langford said. “We see that there are jobs available without people being able to fill them, because they don’t have the skills. And so this is part of the way Microsoft is addressing that.”
The skill gap is an issue which is present as several students cannot use Microsoft’s productivity suite to its full extent. So this deal will definitely help the students getting acquainted with the productivity suite.
