Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) President Terrence Cheng, and Alphabet’s Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat today announced that Connecticut has become the first state in the nation to offer the full suite of Google Career Certificates across its state colleges and universities system, and that the program is now available to all community colleges and career and technical education (CTE) high schools across the nation to onboard.
Part of the Grow with Google economic opportunity initiative, the certificates are available on the online learning platform Coursera. The program equips people with skills for in-demand jobs within three to six months – with no degree or experience required – at a time when employers in information technology related sectors have reported a skills gap in the U.S. workforce.
“This is exactly what workforce development is all about,” Governor Lamont said. “We have employers that are looking to hire individuals with these digital skills, and our community college system responded quickly by entering into a partnership with Google to ensure our colleges are ready to start equipping students with these skills so they can enter these in-demand careers that pay over $60,000.”
Following an agreement between Google, the Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy, and CSCU, Google and Coursera will provide a diverse population of Connecticut residents with the training to fill positions in data analytics, IT support, project management, and UX design fields that are projected to grow in the next ten years, with an average starting salary of $69,000. After completing the program, graduates can share their resume with an employer consortium of more than 150 companies – including Infosys, Verizon, Walmart, Wayfair, and Google. Infosys has already pledged to hire 250 program graduates at its Hartford location.
“We are excited about this expansion of our Grow with Google Certificates program and the opportunity to partner with academic institutions across the U.S., including community colleges, which are critical to workforce development and economic mobility,” Porat said. “We believe that to have sustainable economic growth, we must have inclusive growth, and we are committed to continuing to help people develop the digital skills they need to participate in this economy.”
“Starting in early 2022, community colleges in all corners of Connecticut will offer Google’s IT Support Certificate, with other certificates rolling out throughout the spring and summer,” CSCU President Terrence Cheng said. “Our public colleges and universities offer the highest quality education and cutting-edge training opportunities. We are thrilled to be the first in the nation to offer all Google Career Certificates on a statewide basis – it is a testament to Governor Lamont’s laser focus on workforce development.”
Building on Google’s initiative with Jobs for the Future to offer its first certificate in IT support to more than 100 community colleges, the company’s new partnerships aim to help individuals bridge the skills gap by gaining the skills needed to take advantage of job openings. These institutions play an essential role in workforce training with 44% of all U.S. undergraduates attending community colleges, and 7.5 million high school students enrolled in CTE programs.
Through the College of Technology, all Connecticut community colleges will offer credit courses that will include Google Career Certificate courses beginning in spring 2022. Non-credit courses will also be offered regionally using the community colleges’ workforce development offices, with the roll out of the Google IT Support certificate in spring 2022. CSCU will partner with the Office of Workforce Strategy to help initially subsidize these programs for students and job seekers.
The Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) was recruited by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies to be one of five states administering up to 100 Grow with Google scholarships for veterans and their spouses. The scholarships will be distributed through the American Job Center by CTDOL’s Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program specialists who work directly with veterans to meet their employment training needs.
“The Connecticut Department of Labor is proud to be one of only five states with Grow with Google scholarships for veterans and their spouses,” Connecticut Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo said. “With certificate programs in technology, analytics, and project management, we can prepare the workforce of the future and help Connecticut’s veterans by providing free access to certifications that will help them prepare for, find, and retain good-paying jobs in growing industries.”
The Google Career Certificates have a track record of helping people rapidly skill and obtain in-demand jobs. Fifty-three percent of graduates identify as Black, Latino, female, or veteran, and eighty-two percent of graduates report a positive career impact within six months of completion, such as a raise, promotion, or new job.
For more information about the certificates, visit either Google’s website at g.co/grow/GoogleCareerCertificates or CSCU’s website at ct.edu/google.
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