Google Pledges $1 Billion for Workforce Development

Ever get the feeling that the local training providers aren’t quite delivering what is really needed by the private sector? Like other tech giants of late, Google has taken the step to invest a considerable amount of money into the provision of training. Traditionally many corporations have given money to universities in the United States to support educational and training programs, but this time its different. Google has essentially funded training programmes to support its own operations. The programs seek to address the gap between the skills required by modern companies and the skills that are taught in schools. The new program, Grow with Google, will create an online destination for job seekers to get training and professional certificates and for businesses to improve their web services.

Why would Google spend this much for a service that should be provided by other organisations? First of all, beyond the PR benefits, Google would consider this expense an investment, for which they hope to receive a future benefit. Secondly, the world has become incredibly complex and niche in terms of skills, qualifications and experience required.

The depth and breadth of niche professional areas continues to expand across most industry sectors (not just IT), which makes it very difficult for the training and educational sector to keep up. How does your workforce measure up? Do you have the skills required to attract new businesses and new investment? Give us a call to chat about how you can help prepare your workforce and create meaningful partnerships with industry to support workforce development (info@lucideconomics.com.au, 1-800-940-990).