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Google has just announced the Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness Program.
The new initiative will help Black students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) prepare to enter the workforce through digital skills training. Through a $1 million investment in the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), Grow with Google will provide digital skills workshops in the career centers of 20 HBCUs, reaching 20,000 students over the next school year.
The program will be available to all HBCUs by fall 2021. The first four schools in the program are Bowie State University, Winston-Salem State University, Southern University and A&M College, and Virginia State University.
“Today, nearly two-thirds of all jobs in the U.S. require medium or advanced digital skills, but 50 percent of Black jobseekers lack digital skills,” said Bonita Stewart, Vice President for Global Partnerships at Google and Howard University alumna. “To address this skills gap and help Black students obtain the digital skills they need to succeed in the workforce, we’re proud to partner with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to launch the Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness Program.”
TMCF—the nation’s largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community—has a track record of successfully connecting HBCU students with scholarships, training, and jobs as they navigate college and careers. Its long history of on-the-ground work will ensure the Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness Program is tailored to meet student needs.
The Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness Program will provide HBCU career centers with funding and a semester-long in-person and online digital skills program, which will become available to students in November. The program will combine existing Grow with Google workshops with custom jobseeker content for Black students, including design thinking, project management, and professional brand building. TMCF, which is contributing to the program’s design, will work with HBCU career centers to onboard the program.
“We are excited to join in partnership with Google to help students at our member-schools gain the digital skills necessary in order to be successful,” said Harry L. Williams, President & CEO of TMCF. “We are confident that the Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness program will help to move the needle and provide endless opportunities for our HBCU students.”
This $1 million Grow with Google investment is part of a $15 million commitment to upskill Black workers. Announced by Google CEO Sundar Pichai in June, the investment aims to help Black jobseekers learn new skills in partnership with national workforce development organizations.
Grow with Google is Google’s initiative to create economic opportunities for all by providing free tools and training. Since 2017, the program has trained more than five million Americans in digital skills. The Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness Program builds on the company’s ongoing investments in HBCU students. Since 2013, the Google In Residence program has placed Google software engineers at HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) as faculty. The company also hosts Tech Exchange, a virtual student exchange program that teaches HBCU and HSU students applied computer science courses.
For more information on Grow with Google’s HBCU Career Readiness program, please visit this website. To read Dr. Harry L. Williams’ Google Keyword blog announcing the program, please visit here.
