Americas

In 2015, we launched Microsoft Leap in Redmond, WA to introduce more people to work in the tech industry. Microsoft Leap offers an immersive 16-week experience combining in-classroom learning with on the job training, working on real teams and real products within our organization such as Azure, Xbox, Bing, and Office365. In the Americas region, we offer a variety of pathways encompassing engineering, design, and technical disciplines with the goal of bridging the skill gap and providing opportunities for talent from non-traditional backgrounds.

Microsoft Leap participants are change catalysts and change multipliers: they bring a diverse set of personal experiences and cognitive abilities to their work as well as to their colleagues and communities at Microsoft and beyond. They play a vital role in advancing engineering processes, accelerating innovation, and activating inclusion as a part of Microsoft culture.

Microsoft Leap offers additional programs designed to create unconventional entry points for talent into the tech industry. We understand that there are many pathways into technology and, as this technology evolves and grows, the skillset needed for roles within the industry also changes rapidly. With this in mind, the Microsoft Leap Internal Program was designed to upskill and reskill current Microsoft employees with learning and development opportunities to prepare for more advanced roles.

In 2018, after recognizing that our customers and external partners were facing the same talent acquisition challenges in the market, we launched Microsoft Leap as a Service (LaaS). This program is focused on developing talent for Microsoft's partner organizations by implementing the Microsoft Leap model to build digital skills and career pathways that meet the business needs and goals of other companies.