In an effort to strengthen its relations with US colleges, Google is reportedly granting all US-based community colleges free access to all its four career certifications. In a statement, Lisa Gevelber, the founder at Grow with Google, has said that the company is delighted to announce that all the certifications under Google career certificates will be made available to all community colleges, and career and technical high schools in the States.
Recognized by the American Council on Education
And what’s even better (and “super exciting”) is that all four certificates are now recommended by the American Council on Education, and will be recognized as college credit for up to as many 12 credits, equalling some four college courses at the bachelor’s level.
Google currently offers four career certifications, namely data analytics, information technology, user experience design and project management. Friday had the State of Connecticut become the first in the country to offer the complete Google Career Certificates suite across all its universities and satte colleges.
This might be a smart move, seeing as how community colleges and technical high schools have a major role to play in training the workforce. According to Google’s Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat, stats show that as many as 44 percent US undergraduates are attending community colleges, while as many as 7.5 million high schoolers are enrolled in technical and career education programs.
To Equip People with Desirable Skills
The state organized a press conference at Middlesex Community College, Connecticut, where Porat was joined by the likes of Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, Us Secretary of Education Miguel Cordona, Connecticut State Colleges and Universities President Terrence Cheng, and State Governor Ned Lamont.
During the conference, Lamont said that these days, employers are seeking to hire people who have a specific set of digital skills, and the partnership with Google will help colleges equip their students with the right knowledge and skills to enable them to enter “in-demand careers that pay over $60,000.”
Starting Next Spring
The for-credit course will be incorporated to Connecticut’s colleges starting spring next year, for the Google IT Support Certification, which will require a minimum of 150 hours of online course. Non-credit opportunities will also be made available.
Cheng has said that the costs are currently being worked out, and if any cost does arise, then they will work to “figure out tuition support.” Gevelber has said that while Google itself doesn’t get any revenue from the courses, hosting platform Coursera does charge $39 per month for the same.
