Google Makes $1 Million Investment for Workforce Program at HBCUs

Google recently announced the Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness Program, a new initiative to help Black students at HBCUs prepare to enter the workforce through digital skills training.

The company has invested $1 million of its $15 million commitment to Black workers toward the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) to provide digital skills workshops in the career centers of 20 HBCUs, reaching 20,000 students over the next school year.

"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."

The 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.

Additionally, it will combine existing Grow with Google workshops with custom jobseeker content for Black students, including design thinking, project management, and professional brand building.

Since 2017, Grow with Google 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.

The Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness Program will be available to all HBCUs by fall 2021, however, Bowie State University, Winston-Salem State University, Southern University and A&M College, and Virginia State University will be the first HBCUs to have access to the program.

For more information on Grow with Google's HBCU Career Readiness program, please visit this website.