In partnership with more than 17 states, including Washington, New York, and Florida, Elevate America is designed for professionals who want to develop their tech skills with Microsoft training and certification.

Elevate America (www.microsoft.com/ElevateAmerica) will also provide 1 million training vouchers and feature a range of e-learning courses, from the basics (how to use e-mail, for example) to Microsoft ,certification. Vouchers are available at state workforce development and employment agencies in those states that have signed up for the program. Microsoft has also partnered with organizations such as AARP, the National Urban League, and the United Negro College Fund to provide training programs across the U.S. through the Microsoft Unlimited Potential program, an extension of Elevate America.

“A significant portion of the minority population is getting adversely impacted by this economic crisis,” says Akhtar Badshah, Microsoft’s senior director of community affairs. According to Badshah, 77% of all jobs in the next decade will require some technology skills. “We decided to offer our courses online and certification at no cost, to get people access to training around basic, intermediate, and advanced skills.”

The changes are expected to have a significant impact on Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers trained on the Windows NT 4.0 operating system. Their certifications were scheduled to expire at the end of this year.

“Manna from heaven,” was Drew Philip Halevy’s reaction to the news. Halevy, a customer service manager at MC2K LLC, an Internet service provider in Rogers, Ark., said he had considered abandoning the MCSE program, since he “did not want to be on a treadmill.”

“I had also felt betrayed by Microsoft for cutting us loose,” Halevy said. “I can now migrate to the MCSE [for Windows 2000] because I want to, not because I have to.”

An MCSE for the newer operating system will now be formally referred to as “MCSE on Microsoft Windows 2000.”

Larry Lentz, president and owner of Lentz Computer Services in San Antonio, said the new Windows 2000 designation “will be good, since that will set that certification apart and make it more distinctive.”

Microsoft last week also introduced a new credential, the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA), for those who manage and troubleshoot Windows 2000-based networks.

“I think the SA certification concept is good, because there’s a lot of badly administered networks out there,” said Brian Fulmer, founder of The Fulmer Group, a Visalia, Calif.-based firm that specializes in computer networks.

While users reacted positively to the Microsoft Certified Professional program changes, IT managers in hiring positions said experience remains the most important credential.

“It’s one of those things [where] if a person has [the MCSE credential], everything else being equal, it makes a difference. But typically, it’s not the deciding factor,” said John Scannello, a consultant for IT planning at Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc.

“I work on a team of six people, and everybody is certified except one. But I really don’t base hiring on that,” said Frank Orlow, manager of technical services at Clark Retail Enterprises Inc. in Oak Brook, Ill. “It’s just a plus type of thing. Skills set and experience are more important to me.”

To David Sanders, general manager of Management Systems Designers Inc. in Vienna, Va., the MCSE certification is important. His company is a certified Microsoft Solution Provider that does high-tech work for federal agencies.

Sanders said the extended certification is good for him on a personal level, since moving from his MCSE for Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2000 will be expensive and time-consuming. But as a manager, “it causes me some pause that those certified professionals out there may not be so motivated to keep their certifications current and upgraded,” Sanders said.

Anne Marie McSweeney, director of certification and skills assessment at Microsoft, said the changes were made “to solve more customers’ problems.”

In conjunction with the girl, UNCF will encourage students to sign up for the first annual Microsoft Office XP Worldwide Competition, which will reward contestants who demonstrate the strongest skills in Microsoft Word and Excel.

“We are pleased to play an active role in supporting organizations like UNCF that help students prepare for the competitive digital workplace,” says Randy Pierson, CEO of Certiport. “The Microsoft Office Specialist certification offers students the opportunity to demonstrate skills they’ll need to succeed in school and the workplace.”

UNCF, one of the oldest successful minority education assistance organizations, will distribute Microsoft Office Specialist exams to affiliated colleges and universities that make computer mining and desktop application proficiency an integral component of school curriculum. The exams are part of a larger mission to increase access to technology for students, including those who want to participate in the worldwide competition.

“UNCF will make good use of this kind expression of support from Certiport,” says Alan Kirschner, senior vice president for development at UNCF. “These exams complement Microsoft’s continued support and commitment to closing the digital divide and expanding educational opportunities for the deserving young men and women that attend UNCF institutions.”

Certiport Inc. is a leading provider of global, performance-based certification programs and services designed to enable individual success and lifetime advancement through certification. As the worldwide administrator of the Microsoft Office Specialist program, Certiport is responsible for the development, marketing and administration of certification programs for the Microsoft Office suite.