The National Governors Association conference this week in Washington, D.C., was all about bringing the public and the private sectors together to meet our nation’s urgent needs.

On Monday, ESRI and Microsoft received the NGA’s prestigious Public-Private Partnership Awards http://www.nga.org/ (BCLC’s own Stephen Jordan was a judge). ESRI, nominated by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, won the award for its role in BayStat, a multi-agency effort to measure progress on the conservation of the Chesapeake Bay. Microsoft, nominated by Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, won for its United States Partners in Learning initiative, which integrates technology into teaching, learning, and research.

Another exciting announcement took place during the conference. On Sunday, Microsoft’s Pamela Passman announced the launch of "Elevate America," a prime example of how companies can turn corporate expertise into civic opportunity to help steer the nation toward economic recovery.

The bottom-line of Elevate America is this: Within the next decade, 77% of jobs in the U.S. will require technology skills, while as many as 50% of jobs today do (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Millions of Americans currently don’t have the technology skills needed for 21st century jobs, at a time when getting people back to work is more important than ever.

With the goal of giving 2 million people technical training in the next three years, Elevate America helps people understand the skills needed for 21st century jobs and provides resources to help acquire those skills, including access to several Microsoft online training programs.

Microsoft is engaging state and local governments to be partners in Elevate America in order to provide a broader range of training programs and certification exams. Already, three governors have committed their states:

• Charlie Crist from Florida
• David Paterson of New York
• Chris Gregoire from Washington

Undoubtedly more states will follow. Says Passman, Microsoft’s VP of global corporate affairs, "Millions of individuals don't have the technology skills needed in today's economy. Through Elevate America, we want to help workers get the skills they need to succeed."