No college degree necessary.
"The pandemic has led to a truly horrible year," Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai tells Inc. in an interview. "But it has also created profound shifts along the journey to digital transformation in ways no one could have imagined."
The plan includes:
- The release of three new Google Career Certificates on Coursera in project management, data analytics, and user experience (UX) design
- A new Associate Android Developer Certification course
- Over 100,000 need-based scholarships
- Partnerships with more than 130 employers working with Google to hire graduates of its certificate program
- A new Google Search feature that makes it easier for people to find jobs for their education level, including no degree and no experience
In an exclusive interview with Inc., Google shared further details and the thinking behind the new certificate programs and the broader "Grow With Google" initiative, its plan to help accelerate economic recovery and provide millions the opportunity to find a job or grow their career or business.
Why now
While the shift to digital was greatly accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, Google was in a unique position to observe a more gradual shift over the past several years. But as more and more digital jobs became available, it became obvious that there was a skills gap.
"You can't just say the next generation will naturally have the skills they need," says Pichai. "We saw a lot of unfilled positions when it came to jobs in tech. It was a supply mismatch. Yet people were hungry to fill those positions. So we asked ourselves, 'Why is there a gap?'"
One reason, explains Pichai, is that not everyone has access to a four-year degree, because of socioeconomic and other factors.
For example, when analyzing the data, Google noticed that the Google IT Support Professional Certificate program, which the company launched on Coursera in 2018 and served as a model for the new courses, enrolled a high percentage of students from nontraditional backgrounds. In addition to many not having a degree, 46 percent reported being in the lowest-income bracket, reporting less than $30,000 annual income.
So Google concluded it was important to offer programs that were available to as many people as possible ... and that taught in-demand, real-world skills. The programs should offer a clear path to a high-paying job and a stable career, or even be a steppingstone to starting a business.
Lisa Gevelber, vice president, Grow With Google, sums up the company's ambitious goal: "How do we create economic opportunity for everyone?" The result is a continually developing plan, with the online certificate programs at its core.
Each of the new certificate programs is available on the online course platform Coursera, which works with universities and organizations like Google to offer courses, certifications, and degrees in various subjects. Students will need to enroll with Coursera to take the new certificate programs.
But while the new programs offer a fast track to new skills and possibly even a new job in a fraction of the time of a degree program, students shouldn't expect the courses to be a walk in the park. "Gaining a certificate is based on passing the assessments," says Gevelber. "That proves someone can do the job."
And passing those assessments isn't easy. Gevelber describes them as "rigorous," with more than 100 assessments for each course. "It's not uncommon for a student to stumble even on their first assessment," she explains. "But we've worked with our course designers and a behavioral science team, along with Coursera, to make sure students know they're not alone, and help keep them from getting discouraged."
by Justin Bariso, Inc. | Read more:
Image: Getty. Illustration: Chloe Krammel
