Google.org promises $14 million funds for Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator

Google.org will put a $14 million reinvestment in the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator, announced Google, Monday, May 9. According to the company, the amount includes grants and in-kind support that will aid Goodwill in its journey to provide different digital training services and offer job placement to numerous individuals. As per Google’s statement, the fund will allow Goodwill to accommodate more than 200,000 individuals with digital skills and career training in the US and Canada. 

Specifically, the company’s support comprises $7 million in donated Search ads and $7 million in Google.org grants. The funds will be focused on providing different services and improving the efficiency of the organization in executing its plans. “The funds support infrastructure development and expansion like tracking systems for hiring and training that will improve the reach and effectiveness of Goodwill’s services at the local level,” wrote Google & Alphabet President of Global Affairs Kent Walker and Goodwill Industries International President and CEO Steve Preston in a blog post announcing the news. 

Further, the support includes 10 Google employees providing full-time pro bono service through Google.org Fellowship. Google says the team of 10 will assist Goodwill in connecting online job seekers to its career coaches. In relation to this, Google has already put over 300,000 job seekers in various digital-related jobs and educated more than a million individuals with important digital skills and digital awareness.

“Through collaborations like the one between Goodwill and Google, we’re learning what works and what doesn’t,” the blog post reads. “By aligning the right resources, we can build the systems and capacity needed to close the digital skills gap and connect Americans with the skills and support they need to compete in the 21st century economy. In every community, we need talent equipped and participating in our rapidly changing labor market.”

These joint efforts from Google and Goodwill have already benefited countless job seekers and could even extend to more individuals in the future. According to the multinational technology company, since more and more employers are now focusing on skills instead of degree-related requirements, the programs and projects will help people land digital jobs without a diploma. Currently, only 36% of American adults are college-degree holders. The numbers lead to 5.9 unemployed people and 11 million unfilled jobs due to a lack of the needed skills.

“When employers hire for relevant skills, rather than screening for degrees, we get access to a talent pool that is qualified, ready to work, and significantly more diverse,” Walker and Preston said. “But for employers to hire people with the requisite skills, people must have successful avenues to acquire those skills.”

With this, the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator can be a notable solution for the said problems. According to Google, apart from removing the barriers that cause Americans to stop learning important skills they need to land a job (stipends, connectivity support, transportation credits, career navigators, and others), the project also puts over 70% of the American population to have access to different Goodwill mission services locations across the country.