Tag Archives: grow with google

Things to consider when developing job training programs

The way we work has changed. When millions of people around the world had to turn their homes into virtual offices due to the COVID-19 pandemic, technology became essential to stay connected with their day-to-day work. This uptake in technology use and the impact of the pandemic on the labor market have fundamentally transformed how we conduct business and the type of skills needed in the workforce.

As jobs with routine tasks like clerical work or bookkeeping become more automated, it's important for governments to invest in their workforce so everyone can get the digital skills needed to succeed in today's job market. That includes closing the digital skills gap for those who are at greatest risk of job displacement: women, those on lower incomes, young and disabled people, migrant populations and ethnic minorities who have borne the brunt of the economic fallout.

A full year after joining the European Commission Pact for Skills — an initiative to upskill and reskill the workforce — we are sharing the key characteristics that we feel should be considered when developing job training solutions. We draw on our experience implementing initiatives to help workers get the skills they need to get a job or grow their business. Since 2015, over 18 million people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa have participated in our Grow with Google training, resulting in more than 4 million people getting a new job, growing their career or growing their business.*

Provide in-demand training that's
accessible to everyone

Earlier this year we announced Google Career Certificates. These affordable courses were designed for people with no prior experience to foster new skills in high-demand areas like IT support and data analytics. Hosted on the Coursera platform, they help people who want to learn online at their own pace, or who may want to change careers and don't have the time or means to access traditional education. Moreover, they are designed to prepare learners for a new job within less than 6 months.

Invest in public-private sector partnerships

Addressing the challenges of the future of work requires collaboration between governments, companies and community organizations. Public organizations are often in the front line of addressing job displacement needs and play a crucial role in reaching those most in need of training. Google has partnered with organizations to helpreach trade unions and workers in the transport and logistics sector, developing programs to helpwomen build confidence in their leadership skills and funding nonprofits to provide critical services forunderserved small businesses.

We are providing 100,000 Google Career Certificates scholarships in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in collaboration with local organizations. Half of these scholarships go to learners from vulnerable populations through grant funding from Google.org to INCO for personalized coaching, mentorship, resume writing and other wraparound support. INCO has partnered with over 30 European non profits like Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG), an organization serving the Roma community in Spain.

A picture of Alba Bermúdez at her desk facing her computer

Alba Bermúdez in Madrid

Thanks to FSG, Alba Bermúdez in Madrid for instance was able to learn about the scholarships for the Career Certificates. Since the age of 16, Alba worked in craft fairs, as a clerk at a local flea market and most recently as a hairdresser assistant. After losing her job during the lockdown, she decided to use the scholarship from FSG for the IT Support course as she had always been curious about getting into the technology field. Shortly after finishing the course, she found a job in IT support.

In the UK, we're providing scholarships for more than 10,000 people to be able to take these courses for free, including a partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions specifically aimed at jobseekers. We also worked with the Greek Ministry of Labor and the local manpower employer organization, OAED, to offer bespoke training programs in digital marketing, IT support and entrepreneurship to 10,000 unemployed young people in Greece. We have also partnered with Techfugees to provide digital skills training to unemployed refugees in Uganda, Kenya, Lebanon and the UK. These are just a few examples of partnerships with organizations in the region to provide financial assistance for digital skills trainings.

Work hand-in-hand with employers

While there are people that cannot find a job because they don't have the right skills, 40% of employers in Europe also struggle to find qualified people. To ensure digital skills training directly translates into jobs, we are working with companies and organizations who recognize the Google Career Certificates and openly express their interest in receiving applications from graduates.

We know that no entity or industry can tackle these challenges alone. Instead, it’s a shared responsibility, one that will require public policy solutions as well as efforts on the part of businesses, communities, and civil society groups. At Google, we are committed to doing our part. We have a once in a generation opportunity to boost the prospects of an inclusive and sustainable digital future that works for everyone.

*Analysis by Google based on internal data and a survey by Ipsos from Sep 2016 to Sep 2021 amongst EMEA residents trained via Digital Workshop

Source: The Official Google Blog

A new path to jobs for our military community

Dissatisfied with her job in retail, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Amie Hanbury enrolled in the Google Career Certificate program on Coursera to learn job-ready skills that could help her start a new career in IT support. The flexible online training allowed Amie to learn while maintaining her full-time job. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, her retail store closed to customers, leaving her with less to do while at work, but more time to study. As she worked through the curriculum, she learned new skills, her confidence grew and soon she was applying for jobs in IT. Today, Amie is a Google Career Certificate graduate and works as a lead field technician; she says she couldn’t be happier with her new career.

Amie’s story is just one example of how Google is helping make progress in expanding opportunity for the military community, and one that inspires me personally. As the proud daughter of a 20-year Army veteran, I’m honored to announce Google.org will provide $20 million in grant funding and in-kind product donations to support economic empowerment for veterans and the military community. This includes a $10 million cash grant to Hiring Our Heroes to launch the Career Forward program. The initiative will provide 8,000 veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses with the skills and career support they need to get great jobs through free access to the Google Career Certificates.

The certificates are portable, industry-recognized credentials that prepare people for in-demand, entry-level jobs and allow certificate graduates to work in high-growth career fields across state and international boundaries — no degree or relevant experience required. The certificates are also flexible, so learners can study on their own time, and they have a track record of advancing economic mobility — 82% of graduates report a positive career impact within six months of completion, such as a raise, promotion or new job.

The cash grant will also enable Hiring Our Heroes to provide job search support, like interview prep and career workshops, to help learners succeed. They’ll assist in placing certificate graduates in 12-week paid job training fellowships at one of more than 400 employers in the Hiring Our Heroes network. After training, graduates can connect with employers like Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte, Freedom Learning Group, Verizon, Molecula and of course, Google. These companies are just a few of the more than 150 members of ouremployer consortium committed to hiring and reskilling veterans and military spouses.

Google.org will also donate $10 million in Ad Grants to veteran serving organizations — including Hiring Our Heroes, Code Platoon, Black Veterans Project and Minority Veterans of America — to help them connect with veterans and their families who are searching for their services on Google. To help ensure as many people as possible have access to resources for the military community, we’re also working with partners that serve our military community at the local and national levels. For example, the Department of Labor’s Transition Employment Assistance for Military Spouses (TEAMS) resource guide now includes information about the Google Career Certificates and links to our updated Military Spouse Career Roadmap, developed in partnership with Hiring Our Heroes, which provides helpful tools for military spouses as they forge ahead on new career paths.

To support transitioning service members as they make their moves to civilian life, our own Google Veterans Network (VetNet) — a community of veteran, military spouse and civilian ally Google employees — will volunteer with Hiring Our Heroes over the next year to host free workshops for thousands of service members. During these workshops, VetNet Googlers plan to provide career advice, resume support and job search training.

Today’s news builds on our longstanding commitment to increase economic opportunity in the military community. We've created Search capabilities to make it easier for veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses to find relevant job opportunities on Google. We also became an official partner of the Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership, and announced five days of paid leave for military spouses every time their service member receives orders.

Our hope is that increased access to portable career credentials and employment opportunities can ease some of the challenges our military community faces in reaching economic mobility. Visit our online hub to learn more about our free tools and resources for the military community.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Honoring Indigenous communities around the world

Shekoli (hello)! Today, we kick off Native American Heritage Month in the U.S. I am a citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, or Onyota’a:ka, and I am thankful that I was able to grow up on my tribe’s reservation, which is on the ancestral lands of the Menominee Nation. I celebrate the resiliency of the Menominee, Oneida, and the 10 other tribal nations of Wisconsin, honor their sovereignty, and acknowledge their connection to the lands and waters of this state.

My tribe is just one of the nearly 600 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. Every year, I look forward to this month as an opportunity to learn more about the diverse tribes, nations, communities and pueblos that make up Indian Country, a term used to describe Native economies and spaces in the United States. Like many Native people alive today, I am a descendant of survivors of residential schools which were created in the 19th century, and carried on into the 20th, as part of the United States’ assimilation policy. Learning about and celebrating Indigenous culture means so much to me because I know how much was required to carry it on.

A mother and daughter sit on the grass with a crowd behind them.

Olivia with her mother at the annual Oneida Pow Wow when she was a child.

I’m proud to serve as a lead for the Google Aboriginal and Indigenous Network (GAIN), an employee resource group which supports our growing community at Google and helps make a positive impact in Native communities outside Google. What started out as a majority U.S-focused group back in 2012 (and previously named the Google American Indian Network) has now grown to include Googlers from around the world, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit in Canada, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia. This year, we partnered with teams across Google to support Native-serving organizations, celebrate Indigenous artists, and amplify the stories of people building Indigenous futures.

Supporting Native jobseekers and small businesses

Across the U.S. the compounding effects of COVID-19 continue to disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, including the Indigenous community. According to a report from the Center for American Progress, “COVID-19 will cost Indian Country an estimated $50 billion in economic activity and place the livelihoods of 1.1 million tribal business workers—both Native and non-Native—at risk.” Small businesses drive local economies and help foster a sense of belonging in the communities they serve and represent.

Last year, as part of our economic recovery efforts, Google.org provided $1.25 million in grants to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) to help support Native-owned small businesses like Earth and Sky Floral Designs and Gallery. Shayai Lucero, a tribal member of the Acoma Pueblo and Laguna Pueblo, started Earth and Sky Floral Designs and Gallery used funding from NCAI’s program to keep her floral business running and to hire fellow local tribal members during the pandemic.

Portrait photo of Shayai Lucero, who wears a black and red shirt and turquoise earrings.

“I hired a graphics designer who is from Laguna Pueblo to do some graphics and revisions to my company's logo. I was able to pay him at a non-discounted price thanks to the grant. The logo revision has allowed me to market in ways I haven’t before” shares Shayai Lucero, owner of Earth and Sky Floral Designs and Gallery.

In addition to our support of Native small businesses, we are also giving $1 million to Partnership With Native Americans to help train 10,000 students at more than 50 Native-serving organizations by 2025 through the Grow with Google Indigenous Career Readiness Program. Over the next four years, we will provide digital skills curriculum and trainers to career services at Tribal Colleges and Universities and other Native-serving institutions. And because we know students are often at different starting points in their educational journeys, the program will also reach high school upperclassmen who are preparing for college and careers, as well as vocational and non-traditional students.

This work builds on our HBCU Career Readiness and HSI Career Readiness and is a part of a larger strategy to expand our Career Readiness program to Black, Latino and Indigenous communities.

Celebrating artists, past and present

Today’s interactive Doodle, illustrated by Zuni Pueblo guest artist Mallery Quetawki, honors the late We:wa, a revered cultural leader and mediator within the Zuni tribe who devoted their life to the preservation of Zuni traditions and history. The late We:wa was also a fiber artist, weaver and potter, and in this interactive Doodle you can try the art of weaving yourself, while learning about Zuni people and listening to music created by the Zuni Olla Maidens. To discover more about the late We:wa, and the process of bringing this Doodle to life, check out the Behind the Doodle film. There will also be a fun celebratory surprise when you look up the late We:wa or Native American Heritage Month on Search.

A still image of the 2021 Native American Heritage Month Google Doodle illustrating a portrait of the late We:wa weaving a fabric pattern in front of a scenic blue and brown background.

This year’s Native American Heritage Month is an interactive Doodle by guest artist Mallery Quetawki honors the late We:wa, a revered cultural leader and mediator within the Zuni tribe.

An image of a painting depicting one man standing to the left of the picture. There is grass on the ground with a bright blue sky and mountain range in the background.
"A-HO" by Mirac Creepingbear from the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, U.S. Department of the Interior collection on Google Arts & Culture.
A black and white photograph of two soldiers crouching in a forest. The figure on the left is looking down, writing in a notebook. The figure on the left is wearing headphones and speaking into an instrument.
Corporal Henry Bahe Jr. and Private First Class George H. Kirk, Bougainville, December 1943 from Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian on Google Arts & Culture.
A picturesque landscape with forest in the foreground, and a view of ancient cliff dwellings carved into the side of a mountain in the middle of the photo. A cloudy sky is above.
Mesa Verde by Kacey Hadick from the CyArk collection on Google Arts & Culture.
Two women cook together with three women observing behind them. The woman in the foreground uses a ladle to stir soup. The other woman is preparing meat above a grill. Pottery is hanging from the wall behind them.
Antojo en cuerpo y alma by Alejandra Cerdeño from the Centro de las Artes Indígenas y Mujeres de Humo collection on Google Arts & Culture.

In collaboration with long-standing Google Arts & Culture partners including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and Honoring Nations, among others, we’re spotlighting extraordinary stories of Indigenous art and culture. Dive into existing content from partners across the Americas – from the historic work of the Native American Code Talkers in the U.S. to the masters of the Totonac Spiritual Cuisine in Mexico – and celebrate the past and present of Indigenous cultures with a tour of the dizzying dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park and a look at contemporary Inuit ceramics.

If you’re interested in learning more about the rich culture and history of Native American communities, simply say “Hey Google, give me a fact about Native American Heritage” on any Google Assistant-enabled smart speaker, display or phone. When you do, you can explore some of the many contributions of Native Americans and hear about significant events in our shared history. There’s something new to discover every day throughout the month of November, including facts about the first Native American to earn an Academy Award nomination and how the Iroquois Confederacy influenced the U.S. constitution.

Keeping a global perspective

This year, U.S. Search Trend traffic for the term “Indigenous'' surpassed searches for “Native American” and “American Indian” for the first time, demonstrating a growing interest in Indigeneity. You can learn more about Search Trends related to Indigenous topics on our Native American Heritage Month Search Trend feature.

Earlier this year, we partnered with the National Congress of Americans (NCAI) to share Inclusive Marketing Guidelines for Indigenous people, which consist of recommendations and learnings to prevent stereotypes and promote authentic portrayals in marketing.

While November is when we celebrate Native American Heritage Month in the U.S., we are always celebrating Indigenous culture around the world. In Canada, we honored the life and efforts of Mary Two-Axe Early, a Kanien’keháka (Mohawk) woman who fought for more than two decades to challenge sex discrimination against First Nations women embedded in Canada’s Indian Act. We also continue to actively support the Indigenous Mapping Workshop, a collaborative effort across Indigenous communities to decolonize geographic resources and promote Indigenous rights and interests.

In Canada, Indigenous Peoples remain largely underrepresented in the technology workforce, so to begin to address this disparity, we have also invested in Indigenous education through a Google.org grant to ComIT, a tech-focused charity that provides IT training for Indigenous students and early career professionals facing employment barriers.

I am thankful that this month I am in Onyota’a:ka (Oneida) to celebrate with my family. I will have many bowls of o·nʌ́steˀ (Oneida White Corn) soup, one of our traditional crops that have been in the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) diet for hundreds of years. If you are looking for ways to honor Indigenous people this month, I encourage you to take a moment to explore some of the stories we’ve shared today or learn about the people that are Indigenous to the land you are on today.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Expanding pathways into higher education and the workforce

Google believes that to have sustainable economic growth, we must have inclusive growth. It is why we developed the Grow with Google digital skills training program, which provides free training to help individuals grow their careers and businesses. Through our digital skilling programs and Google.org grantees, we have helped put nearly 170,000 Americans into new jobs, and of these, 67% are from underrepresented groups, including 44% women. Our Google Career Certificates, available on Coursera, have helped people enter high-growth career fields including Data Analytics, IT Support, Project Management and User Experience Design. Because we believe that collective action is key to success, we created a network of more than 150 companies who accept the Grow with Google Certificates as credentials for roles, including Walmart, Infosys, Verizon and of course, Google (and we are hiring, by the way!).

Today, we’re announcing an expansion of our Google Career Certificates program, including furthering our partnerships with community colleges, translating our Google Career Certificates into college credit and partnering with four-year universities to prepare students for in-demand jobs.

1. Providing community colleges with free access to Google Career Certificates

Community colleges are critical to workforce development and economic mobility, providing accessible education options for millions of Americans and opening doors to opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach. With 44% of American undergraduates attending community colleges, and as the primary institutions serving students from underrepresented groups, there is no doubt they play an invaluable role across the U.S.

Beginning today, the Google Career Certificate program is free for all community colleges and career and technical education (CTE) high schools to add to their curriculum. We will also be partnering with the American Association of Community Colleges, the primary advocacy group for U.S. community colleges and their 12 million students. All of these schools will now be able to onboard this curriculum for free.

2. Translating our Google Career Certificates into college credit

All our Google Career Certificates are now recommended by the American Council on Education for up to 12 college credits (the equivalent to four college courses). For the more than 36 million Americans who have some post-secondary education but no college degree, Google Career Certificates can help provide an affordable on-ramp back to earning their diploma.

3. Partnering with four-year universities to prepare students for in-demand jobs

We are also partnering with four-year universities that are accepting credit for the Google Career Certificates, including Northeastern, Purdue Global, Arizona State University and SUNY, to help increase earning potential and provide students with direct pathways to jobs. For example, a psychology major who acquires data analysis skills can unlock more than 100,000 additional entry-level jobs paying on average $60,000, versus $39,000 for psychology majors overall.

What inspires us to do this work are the real-life stories we hear every day. Like Chelsea Rucker, who was struggling to make ends meet before she took the Google IT Support Certificate through our grantee Goodwill and got a job at Google. Or Natalie Burns, who, while attending community college in Texas, earned her IT certificate and got a job in cybersecurity with a salary three times higher than her previous retail role. These are the stories that drive us, and we will continue to help people develop the digital skills they need to participate in this economy, and gain confidence that they have valuable options for their future.

According to Emsi Burning Glass, history majors who acquire data analysis skills can increase their entry-level salaries by 38%, from an average of $40,000 per year to an average of $55,000 per year.
Data analysis skills can help history majors increase their entry-level earning potential.
According to Emsi Burning Glass, psychology majors who acquire IT management skills can increase their entry-level salaries by 35%, from an average of $40,000 per year to an average of $54,000 per year.
IT management skills can help psychology majors increase their entry-level earning potential.
According to Emsi Burning Glass, English language and literature majors who acquire project management skills can increase their entry-level salaries by 29%, from an average of $42,000 per year to an average of $54,000 per yea
Project management skills can help English language and literature majors increase their entry-level earning potential.
According to Emsi Burning Glass, sociology majors who acquire user experience or user interface design skills can increase their entry-level salaries by 32%, from an average of $53,000 per year to an average of $70,000 per year.
User experience/user interface design skills can help sociology majors increase their entry-level earning potential.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Continuing to support small businesses

Google’s work to address broad societal issues, such as climate change and digital skilling, focuses on creating solutions that are scalable and replicable by others. We believe solutions to global issues are most effective when the private sector, governments, nonprofits and academia come together to reinforce each other’s efforts. At Google, we focus on where we can best contribute to help make those efforts successful.

One example of this is the approach we have taken with Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), a network of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). At the beginning of the pandemic, we announced the creation of the Grow with Google Small Business Fund and committed $130 million in loans and grants. Our shared goal with OFN is to help CDFIs and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the United States access funding they need to grow. The more than 30 million small businesses in the U.S. are the backbone of the economy and employ nearly half of the private workforce. Importantly, CDFIs focus on SMBs often overlooked by traditional lenders, serving people of color, those with low income, SMBs in rural areas and women. We subsequently increased our commitment and allocated an additional $50 million to support SMBs in the Black community. We were motivated by our conviction that economic growth is sustainable only if it is truly inclusive.

Today, I spoke at OFN’s annual conference and was proud to share that Google has, to date, placed more than 90% of our $180 million commitment. In addition, I announced a new $5 million Google.org grant to OFN to help CDFIs use technologies that support their small business lending, allowing them to scale and innovate as they work to meet the needs of the communities they serve.

We are excited about the work that we have led with OFN to help small businesses in overlooked communities, but we recognize that we are just one piece of a much larger puzzle. As is true with a lot of our work, our greatest impact lies in motivating others to join us, and we are proud that several other companies have made commitments to OFN and the CDFI ecosystem over the past year. We look forward to working alongside even more companies in the future and are hopeful that others will see this momentum and be inspired by it as we are.

Source: The Official Google Blog

A new training programme to help small businesses reduce their carbon emissions

The climate crisis is an urgent issue for everyone. The UK government has set an ambitious target to reach net zero by 2050 and all businesses of all sizes need to play a part if we’re to reach those goals.

This is not just about doing the right thing — today’s consumers expect action: according to research from Edelman, 80% of people want brands to solve society’s problems.

Small businesses make up 99% of the UK’s business community so they’ll play a crucial role in reaching net zero. Yet, understandably, small businesses don’t always have the time, resources or expertise to dedicate to this — especially as they focus on recovery from the pandemic. A study from the British Chambers of Commerce and O2 found that only one in 10 small businesses are measuring their carbon footprint, and a fifth of small businesses don't fully understand the term "net zero". Cost, and an ability to understand, measure and report emissions are cited as two of the main barriers to change.

Sustainability training for small businesses

To help small businesses overcome these obstacles, we’re announcing a new free, simple and actionable training programme to help SMEs reduce their emissions. We developed the training in partnership with leading sustainability and net zero certification group, Planet Mark, as part of the UK Government’s Together for our Planet Business Climate Leaders campaign, which encourages small businesses to commit to cutting their emissions in half by 2030 and to net zero by 2050.

Our training is designed for small businesses starting their journey towards sustainability, with an emphasis on how a sustainability strategy can help drive business performance. It sets out the business case and imperative for cutting emissions, and explains practical, digitally-focused ways to decarbonize — from using paperless billing and Cloud-enabled technology, to renewable energy sourcing and supply chains. Since we know how much consumers care about this, it also covers how small businesses can use their sustainability credentials to differentiate.

One business already doing this successfully is catering company, Fooditude. They made tangible changes to their business, like limiting their food waste, going paperless with admin systems and swapping to local suppliers, and reduced their emissions by over 30% per meal. Dean Kennett, Fooditude’s Managing Director, attributes £3 million in new revenue to their new sustainability credentials, as well as their ability to hire staff who share their values, and a shared purpose among employees.

Swati Deshpande, part of the team at Fooditude

We’ll deliver the training through the Google Digital Garage, building on our experience of coaching more than 650,000 people and small businesses in the UK in digital and business skills. And we’ll lean on our expertise as leaders on climate change for over two decades, from becoming carbon neutral in 2007 to our latest and most ambitious commitment to become the first major company to operate on carbon-free energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

We’re encouraging companies who complete the training to make a commitment to going net zero by signing up to the SME Climate Commitment, which can be found on the UK Business Climate Hub. Businesses who sign up and share their commitments will be recognized by the United Nations Race to Zero campaign initiative and inspire other businesses to take action.

Helping SMEs track carbon emissions

Measuring carbon emissions accurately is essential if small businesses are to know if their actions make a difference, but most small businesses can’t do this alone. That’s why we’re supporting Normative, the software platform behind the SME Climate Commitment, to help businesses track and account for their carbon emissions, making climate mitigation easier and actionable. Over the next six months, as part of the Google.org Fellowship, we’ll provide a team of 11 Googlers to work full-time, pro bono, to assist Normative with building the technical infrastructure that underpins the free-to-access platform. Normative was one of the organisations to receive a €1M grant through the Google.org Impact Challenge on Climate, which funds bold ideas that aim to use technology to accelerate Europe’s progress toward a greener, more resilient future.

We’re optimistic that by supporting organisations and technologies like these we can help small businesses make the journey towards a carbon-free future.

How to sign up

Small businesses can sign up to the training here.

Source: The Official Google Blog

An expanded skills program to empower Singaporeans

Like many young people in Singapore last year, Gaviota Rajendhiran graduated in a tough environment. The economic impact of COVID-19 meant there were fewer jobs to apply for and more competition for the positions that were available. So when she heard about Skills Ignition SG, a Grow with Google program, Gaviota rushed to put in an application — earning a placement with Omnicom Media Group. She impressed the team there so much that they offered her a full-time job, making her one of eight Skills Ignition trainees to secure permanent roles with Omnicom.

Gaviota’s story is testament to her talent and determination. But it also shows the power of governments and businesses working together to create opportunity. We created Skills Ignition last year as a partnership between Google and three Singapore government agencies: the Economic Development Board, Infocomm & Media Development Authority and SkillsFuture Singapore. The program equips trainees with the skills they need for an economy becoming increasingly reliant on technology — helping build a talent pipeline that will benefit Singapore for years to come.

When we launched Skills Ignition, we set a goal of training 3,000 Singaporeans and permanent residents: 2,400 through online vocational training and 600 through a combination of online training and on-the-job learning with 38 (and counting) global and local host companies. We’re on track to meet that target, and 90% of the trainees who’ve been through the program so far feel it’s allowed them to gain the right skills to succeed in the digital economy. The 100 trainees we hosted at Google certainly made a huge impact with their energy and enthusiasm.

A screenshot of Skills Ignition trainees smiling and making thumbs-up and victory gestures on a Meet video call.

Some of the 100 Skills Ignition trainees we hosted at Google catching up via Google Meet.

Today, we announced that we’re expanding the program with 600 new vocational training places, taking our overall target to 3,600. We’ll be welcoming another 100 on-the-job trainees to Google in October. And we’re also working on a new training track — Data Engineering with Machine Learning Fundamentals — to add to the two existing tracks: Digital Marketing and Cloud Technology.

Over the past five years, the demand for data analytics skills has grown by 86% globally, and Singapore needs world-class business analysts, data scientists and machine learning engineers to be competitive in this fast-changing area of technology. The new Skills Ignition track will help meet that demand, marking the next step in our growing collaboration with Singapore on AI — including a recently-announced partnership between Google Cloud and AI Singapore.

Deepening the long-term partnership between Google and Singapore

The expansion of Skills Ignition into its second year deepens our long-standing commitment to Singapore — our headquarters in Asia-Pacific since 2007 and a community that more than 2,000 Googlers call home.

Over the past 18 months, we’ve worked with Singapore’s government agencies, the private sector and nonprofits to support the response to the pandemic, from sharing health information like vaccine locations to helping small business owners adopt digital tools and promoting food and beverage businesses affected by COVID-19 restrictions.

But Singapore has always kept its eyes on the longer term. Our mission here is ‘empowering Singaporeans today, for tomorrow’. Together with our Skills Ignition partners, we’re looking forward to making sure more Singaporeans can use technology to reach their potential as the digital economy grows.

Source: The Official Google Blog

An expanded skills program to empower Singaporeans

Some of the 100 Skills Ignition trainees we hosted at Google catching up via Google Meet.

Deepening the long-term partnership between Google and Singapore

Source: The Official Google Blog

Supporting LGBTQ+ spaces on the road to recovery

When I first moved to the United States from India, I visited Chicago’s Northalsted area (also known as “Boystown”), an LGBTQ+ neighborhood. I was still in the process of coming out, and I was amazed to see so many businesses welcoming the LGBTQ+ community and building a space that felt safe. For the first time, I felt comfortable in my skin as a gay man and experienced the feeling of truly belonging.

This past year, LGBTQ+ businesses and service organizations — that are at the heart of LGBTQ+ life — were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. These businesses are more than just bars, restaurants, bookstores, salons or health clinics. They’re places of validation where LGBTQ+ folks are able to gather, find community, commiserate in tough times and celebrate the good times.

That’s why Google is continuing to show up year-round with dedicated resources to help small and medium-sized businesses — owned by or serving the LGBTQ+ community — on their road to recovery.

New hub for LGBTQ-friendly small businesses and LGBTQ+ business owners

We’re launching a new LGBTQ+ small business resource hub where small business owners can learn about our growing number of product features that help the LGBTQ+ community find safe and welcoming spaces. Businesses like Nos Casa Cafe in Roxbury, Massachusetts and Orhan London Tailoring in London, UK proudly show they are “LGBTQ friendly” on their Business Profile on Google Search and Maps. Others like gc2b, a Black and Latinx transgender-owned company, use Google Ads to reach and help the trans community worldwide.

We’re also connecting LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs with StartOut, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit organization that helps facilitate mentorship, access to capital and tools to create an equitable playing field for the community.

Tools and resources for LGBTQ+ business owners

Our economic opportunity initiative, Grow with Google, is helping LGBTQ+ small businesses, like TomboyX, learn how to use digital tools that can drive business growth. We’re partnering with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the “business voice of the LGBT community,” to provide their network of affiliate chambers with training curriculums and resources that help small businesses adapt, grow and better serve their community. Together over the next year, we’ll deliver more than 100 digital skills workshops for LGBTQ+ small businesses.

Supporting Black LGBTQ+ founders

StartOut's Pride Economic Impact Index shows that over the last 20 years, "out" LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs in the U.S. raised only about 10% as much funding as their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts. This is why Google for Startups is committed to fostering a global startup community that’s diverse and inclusive, leading to more equitable outcomes for underrepresented groups.

Earlier this month, we announced the second $5 million Google for Startups Black Founders Fund in the U.S., which was created to spur economic opportunity for Black entrepreneurs who are consistently locked out of access to capital. StartOut is nominating founders from their community to receive up to $100,000 non-dilutive cash investments, in addition to other benefits like free access to Google products and mentorship.

A group of seven racially diverse and gender expansive people stand together lovingly in front of a red and white mural at Junior High.

Space to belong

In January 2020, before COVID-19 spread worldwide, U.S. search interest for “lgbt friendly” had reached an all-time high. But by March, search interest for “lgbt friendly” dropped dramatically as the pandemic shut down small businesses and gathering places around the country.

This summer, Google is launching a global campaign to help support and celebrate LGBTQ+ friendly spaces on their road to recovery – from queer and trans owned auto repair shops to historic gay bars and community art centers. You can learn more at our Pride hub: pride.google.

Today I live in the Castro, a neighborhood at the heart of San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ community. Like most people, I have my neighborhood go-tos, a coffee shop where I’m always greeted with a smile and a friendly bark from customers’ dogs that gather outside in the morning. Across the street are other beloved neighborhood restaurants and shops that are LGBTQ+ friendly, many of which were empty or less vibrant during the pandemic. That’s why at Google we feel strongly about supporting LGBTQ+ friendly businesses and safe spaces so that we can build towards a world that fosters belonging for all.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Google Career Certificates launch in the UK

Today, we’re launching U.K.-wide Google Career Certificates in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

With people in the U.K. gaining the opportunity to explore new freedoms each week, we know that many people, through both necessity and personal drive, are looking for ways to grow skill sets to prepare for the jobs of the present and the future.

Technology and automation were already fundamentally changing the way we work, a trend only accelerated by the additional upheaval of jobs markets due to the pandemic. In fact, research conducted by Google and The McKinsey Global Institute before COVID-19 shows that, to ensure job creation, more than 90 million workers may need to develop significant new skills by 2030.

Our Search data in the U.K. suggests we’re already looking to get ahead of this with an increase in Searches for ‘information technology online course’ up 780%, ‘business management course online’ up 296% and ‘online courses with certificates’ up 259% in just the last week alone.

On top of this, people are turning to the internet to ask their most pressing questions about ‘skills' with some top-ranked questions in Search being ‘How to improve leadership skills?’ ‘How to improve problem solving skills?’ and ‘How to improve communication skills?’

To support the need to learn these new skills, we’re distributing 9,500 Google Career Certificate scholarships in the U.K. through government partnerships with the DWP (9,000) and Camden Council (500). We’re also providing grant funding to The Prince’s Trust and INCO Academy via Google.org to ensure that an additional 1,500 young people from underrepresented and disadvantaged communities across the U.K. can take advantage of the training opportunity.

Those who sign up to Google Career Certificates can select any number of the four courses available to help grow the necessary skills to support a career in technology. The courses available include IT Support, Data Analyst, Project Manager and UX Designer. Typically learners take up to six months to complete the course, no degree level experience is needed and they’re recognised by industry experts and employers, including Google.

We know that technology is only becoming more important for the U.K. economy. The amount technology contributes to the UK economy has grown on average by 7% year on year since 2016. And U.K.-based venture capital investment is third in the world, reaching a record high of $15 billion in 2020, despite the challenging conditions.

As the U.K. embarks upon the biggest recovery challenge in recent history, technology must help everyone, no matter their location, race, age or education level. We must harness the opportunity to prepare people across the country for the jobs of the not-so-distant future. We hope that with these new efforts and the support of our public sector partners, even more people can develop the skills to thrive and continue growing their careers through technology.

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