The Microsoft Professional Program (MPP) is the most recent program from Microsoft to provide training and an educational platform in an effort to help fill the growing skills gap. According to Microsoft there are 1.5 million jobs going unfilled as a result. The program was initially launched with a Data Science track and has been a big success.

In the Data Science track of the Microsoft Professional Program (MPP) there have been nearly 4,000 learners enrolled in the program since July 2016. There has also been over 700 graduates of the program develop their skills and earn the Data Science certification.

There has also been over 700 graduates of the program develop their skills and earn the Data Science certification.

As was announced in October 2016, Microsoft is following through with a planned expansion of the Microsoft Professional Program. This expansion is brining with it the addition of 2 new tracks to the program. The 2 new tracks are:

• Big Data – The track will teach the skills required to design systems for capturing, processing and analyzing big data.
• Front-End Web Development – The track will focus on developing skills with programming languages, standards, libraries, and frameworks ranging from HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to frameworks such as Angular, Bootstrap, and jQuery.

New Big Data and Front-end Web Development tracks are being added to the program.

Enrollees in the Microsoft Professional Program are getting a new benefit added to the program. The new benefit is the addition of a free 12 month Pro membership to Gooroo.io. Gooroo is a resource for learners interested in careers in technology that will give them access to employment opportunities from some of the world’s leading tech startups and corporations.

The overall price for the completion certificates for each of the courses in the Microsoft Professional Program is also increasing. Previously, the majority of the courses for the program would cost $49 to receive a certificate of completion for each course. While enrollees are also able to audit each course for free. The free course auditing is remaining, but the fee for the certificate of completion of each course will be increasing to $99. This will result in an increase of the full program from costing approximately $500 USD for the Data Science track to the new cost of nearly $1,000 USD. This is somewhat of a significant cost increase but still far cheaper than a technical college or university degree. Additionally, the reason for the cost increase is to help pay for the cost that Microsoft has been putting into the development of the program tracks and courses.

In addition to the above, there are a few other smaller changes and updates being made to the program. Overall it’s been a fairly good success so far, and will undoubtedly keep growing with the expansion of the 2 new tracks in Big Data and Front-end Web Development.

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