High-tech job training gets $1B pledge from Google

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced on Thursday that the internet search giant will commit $1 billion to nonprofit groups worldwide over the next five years for high-tech job training. It is considered as the biggest financial pledge from the company, reports said.

Aside from the grants, Google will conduct a “Grow With Google” tour across the US that will work with libraries and community groups to provide career advice and high-tech job training.

One thousand Google employees will also devote 1 million work hours over five years to help organizations that will conduct high-tech job training and give career advice.

Pichai made the announcement about the three initiatives in an event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Grants

Pichai said Google will make grants in three core areas: education, economic opportunity, and inclusion.

“Google.org will use its philanthropic expertise to fund organizations working in three areas: closing the world’s education gap, helping people prepare for the changing nature of work, and ensuring that no one is excluded from opportunity,” said Pichai.

In fact, Pichai added, Google has given $100 million of the $1 billion to nonprofits. Out of the $100 million, $10 million will go to Goodwill, which is creating the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator. The grant given to Goodwill is the largest single grant Google has ever made.

Over the next three years, Goodwill, a major player in workforce development, aims to provide 1 million people with access to digital skills and career opportunities. Pichai said 1,000 Google employees will be available for career coaching.

 

Transformative

With regard Goodwill, Pichai noted the group’s “phenomenal reach”, pointing out that “over 80 percent of Americans live within 10 miles of its centers.”

“With our support, it will be able to offer 1.2 million people digital skills and career opportunities in all 156 Goodwills across every state over the next three years.”

Pichai hopes that nonprofit groups that will receive the grants “will find the funds transformative.”

Purpose

According to the tech giant’s CEO, Google’s initiatives aim to tackle the changes in the nature of work and those changes are not being met head-on.

“The nature of work is fundamentally changing. And that is shifting the link between education, training, and opportunity,” Pichai said. “One-third of jobs in 2020 will require skills that aren’t common today. It’s a big problem.”

Volunteer work

With regard the 1 million work hours to be rendered by 1,000 Google employees, Pichai said philanthropy and volunteer work should go hand in hand in any endeavor.

“We’ve always believed that to truly help organizations, you have to offer your time along with your philanthropy,” Pichai said. “The volunteering can take many forms. Sometimes, it’s just showing up to help set up an event. Sometimes, we take a close look at technical issues nonprofits might be having and help them innovate more quickly.”

He recalled that Google employees manned a 4-H booth at the state fair in Illinois to get youngsters excited about science and technology. In the case of Goodwill, Pichai said Google employees will be available to conduct career coaching over the next three years.

“Tech can seem intimidating. But we’ve found that having role models and people right in front of you can make the journey seem much easier.”

(Featured image by Maurizio Pesce via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0)

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