Cloud computing and digital workflow platform ServiceNow has announced the 'RiseUp' initiative with the plan to train and certify one million people by 2024. The firm has drawn support from its partners and aims to create skilled professionals for future opportunities.

The initiative is a global program aimed to provide ServiceNow, its customers, and its channel partners with the right kind of talent to help expand the use of the ServiceNow platform. The initiative has been kick-started in the face of a global shortage of people with digital transformation IT skills.

Catherine Lang, Senior Vice President of Global Education said,"A lot of people are hungry to enter the digital business. Customers and partners are yearnings to fill open positions. This is an opportunity gap. RiseUp with ServiceNow is us saying, how can we provide the opportunity to fill that gap for anyone looking to be a part of the digital workforce."

According to IDC, 90% of organisations will experience a digital transformation-related IT skills shortage by 2025, costing more than $6.5 trillion globally due to delayed product releases, reduced customer satisfaction, and loss of business. These numbers mark a major concern on how the talent would be refurbished to achieve the needful strength.

Lara Caimi, Chief Customer and Partner Officer at ServiceNow said, "Digital transformation requires a talent transformation, so ServiceNow is creating a new kind of career path."

She also said that the focus would be on the opportunity gap instead of the skill gap and this initiative will help broaden the mindset of people when it comes to the demand for digital transformation.

"We're creating new opportunities for both technical and non-technical talent, to help more people advance into higher-paying roles across our ecosystem, regardless of their background. RiseUp with ServiceNow will empower people to build meaningful careers and enable customers and partners to find much-needed talent so they can thrive in the digital economy,” she added.

RiseUp with ServiceNow is aimed at individuals who want to build a career with customers looking to get the talent they need and partners who are looking to build up their practices. To do so, the company is expanding its partnerships with companies that have had a long history as authorized training partners, as well as with other organizations that can help with the training.

"The vast majority of ServiceNow’s elite-level partners have training capabilities, and premier-level partners are starting to build the capabilities too," said Catherine Lang.

“Our elite partners are taking the point of view that they need to build their own academies to build the talent they need,” she said. “They are making sure their skillsets and methodologies are based on what they need. Customers are more and more hungry for expertise and skills. So partners are expanding to meet those needs.”

RiseUp with ServiceNow will focus on three aspects:

• Lowering barriers to learning: With more than 600 free courses and 18 job-related certification paths, Now Learning allows individuals to work at their own pace. More than 325,000 people have already completed 2.3 million courses this year.
• Expanding opportunities for tech talent: ServiceNow NextGen offers in-house academies and training partnerships with non-profit and government agencies. The redesigned ServiceNow Community also connects over 450,000 members with peer-to-peer networking opportunities, learning forums, virtual events, and more.
• Newly skilled talent job placement: The new ServiceNow Partner Placement Program will help customers and partners source, train, and assess talent from diverse backgrounds with the expectation to scale to 25 total partners by the end of 2023.

Recently, ServiceNow announced the release of the Now Platform Tokyo, which is designed to help organisations navigate complex business challenges and an uncertain macro environment. The platform also provides a service called 'Manager Hub', which addresses the managers' greatest pain points while managing teams.