TORONTO - Global Knowledge Canada has been honoured in three of Microsoft's annual award categories for its work in teaching homeless youth valuable digital and computer programming skills at Toronto's Covenant House. Global Knowledge was named Microsoft's 2015 YouthSpark Citizenship Partner of the Year from a global field of top Microsoft partners. Global Knowledge was also recognized as the winner of the Canadian IMPACT Digital Literacy Award (submitted in conjunction with CCI Learning) and as a finalist for the Canadian IMPACT Community and Citizenship Award.

The awards were presented at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference in Orlando, Florida, on July 12. Winners were chosen from more than 2,300 entrants from 108 countries worldwide.

"I am very proud of the work our team members have been doing with Covenant House and homeless youth in Toronto," said Scott Williams, president of Global Knowledge Canada. "We are very committed to the community that we serve, and we see that same commitment in Microsoft. It's very gratifying to see our work recognized by Microsoft in this way."

"We are thrilled that Global Knowledge is receiving this much-deserved recognition for the great work they are doing with our youth and our community," said Covenant House executive director Bruce Rivers. "By teaching our kids practical digital literacy skills, Global Knowledge is helping them build more productive, independent futures. We look forward to continuing our partnership with this exceptional organization as we provide more training opportunities for our youth."

With the goal of increasing digital literacy in mobile application and Web development, Global Knowledge worked with CCI Learning, another Microsoft partner, to provide Microsoft Technology Associate courses as an introductory program to Covenant House youth.

Global Knowledge has also provided training in basic computer skills, communication skills and customer service skills for Covenant House youth as part of a pre-employment program throughout 2014 and 2015.

About Global Knowledge

Global Knowledge is the world's leading learning services and professional development solutions provider. We deliver learning solutions to support customers as they adapt to key business transformations and technological advancements that drive the way that organizations around the world differentiate themselves and thrive. Our learning programs, whether designed for a global organization or an individual professional, help businesses close skills gaps and foster an environment of continuous talent development.

Offering the most relevant and timely content delivered by the best instructors, we provide customers around the world with their choice of customized private programs, convenient public training scheduling options, flexible delivery formats and continuous learning support to accelerate their success. Our business skills solutions teach essential communications skills, leadership development, business analysis, project management, IT service management and process improvement. With thousands of courses spanning from foundational training to specialized certifications, our core IT training is focused on technology partners such as Amazon Web Services, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Red Hat, SAP and VMware. We offer comprehensive professional development for advancements in application development, big data analytics, change management, cloud computing, cybersecurity and networking. Founded in 1995, Global Knowledge employs more than 1,300 people worldwide and is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina.

About Covenant House

As Canada's largest homeless youth agency, Covenant House Toronto provides 24/7 crisis shelter and transitional housing on-site and in the community along with comprehensive services, including education, counselling, health care, employment assistance, and job training to almost 3,000 youth annually. To do all this, the agency relies on donors for about 80 percent of its $21.8-million annual operating budget.