Cloud experts are in high demand in Finland, opening opportunities for Ukrainian asylum seekers to enter a new career track. In 2023, Microsoft partnered with the Ukrainian Association in Finland and the start-up company The Shortcut to provide a full-time, hybrid program for Microsoft Azure skilling in the datacenter region municipalities of Espoo, Kirkkonummi, and Vihti.

The month-long program was open to any Ukrainian national living in Finland with an interest in cloud computing. No prior experience with Azure was required; the courses provided hands-on training of Azure cloud services to provide learning for in-demand job market skills.

The program ran through spring and autumn of 2023, concluding with a networking event in October that gave students the opportunity to speak with participating companies Elisa, Nordcloud, Tietoevry, and Unikie for potential job exposure. Additional sources: Azure Training for Ukrainians – The Shortcut