Google Certification Programs Promote Skilled Workforce

Google has long been at the forefront of innovation, but now the tech giant is hoping to revolutionize the way students learn and pursue careers in our increasingly tech-driven world. Through partnerships with online learning platforms, Google is providing certificate programs in a few fields: IT Support, User Experience Design (UX), Project Management, and Data Analytics. While the idea to provide certification programs over online platforms isn’t radical, in and of itself, the time, money, and outcomes involved are just that. According to Inc., the certification process takes six months or less. Students pay just $39 per month to subscribe to the courses on Coursera as well as pay a $149 exam fee. Finally, Kent Walker, Senior Vice President of Global Affairs at Google, stated that the certificates will be treated just like a four-year college degree in the hiring process.

In our own hiring, we will now treat these new career certificates as the equivalent of a four-year degree for related roles.

— Kent Walker (@Kent_Walker) July 13, 2020

As of March 2021, Google reported that there were about 1.3 million jobs open in those four specific careers. With an affordable certification program, Google is hoping to fill the gap between available opportunities and skilled workers. Furthermore, the projected rate of growth in these careers is 8% between 2019 and 2029, faster than the average of any other occupation.

Google Certificate Programs FAQs

Google wants to make these certifications available to anyone, regardless of their schedule, age, or ability to pay. • Courses can be completed within six months. They are available on Coursera. There is also an Associate Android Developer Certification that is available separately on developer.android.com. • Anyone can complete a Google Certificate. The courses will provide all of the training and skills necessary to secure an entry-level position upon completion. Right now, entry-level careers in tech average a starting pay of $55,000 per year. • Financial aid is available to those who qualify. On the Coursera platform, students simply click the “Financial Aid available” button next to the “Enroll” button. Google has also funded 100,000 scholarships specifically for these certification courses. • Inc. reports that the courses are intensive, requiring more than 100 assessments for each course. Though it takes just a few months to earn, the coursework is not easy. However, there are resources to help students navigate skills, processes, and concepts that they may be struggling through.

Google Career Certificates Employer Consortium

Google is committed to hiring as many of the Google Certificate holders as possible, but they aren’t the only ones. In addition to these certification programs, Google has established the Google Career Certificates Employer Consortium. This group consists of over 130 companies who are committed to considering and employing graduates of this program. These companies include Deloitte, Snap, Inc., Target, and Bank of America. You can see a full list of employers here. Upon completion of the program, graduates will have access to an exclusive database of IT jobs that they qualify for from the partners in the consortium.

Can Online Learning Replace the College Degree?

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, and Lisa Gevelber, Vice President of Grow with Google, hope that this certification programs provides economic opportunity for everyone, regardless of whether or not they have a college degree. Of the program and partnership with employers who will hire from graduates, Pichai told Inc., “We've focused on looking for mission-driven companies with a genuine, clear commitment to diversity and a commitment to hiring certificate graduates who don't necessarily have a four-year degree.” Gebelver added, “We wanted to create a real pipeline for nontraditional talent and work together with companies to remove the traditional barriers.” Today, there is more emphasis on hiring workers based on their skills than what degrees they hold. Business Roundtable, which is an association of CEOs from companies like Delta Air Lines, Mattel, and Pfizer, announced an initiative earlier this year to shift their focus during the hiring process from college degrees and education to skills and willingness to train for specific roles. Though these programs and initiatives will make college degrees less necessary for certain roles, it won’t eliminate the need to go to college altogether. It will, however, provide greater accessibility to economic opportunity for individuals who may not be able to afford a traditional college education. If online learning sounds appealing to you, be sure to check out Fastweb’s Online Learning channel, especially Coursera's page which features the Google Certification Programs. We can help you get started on your online learning education by providing recommendations, analysis, and comparison charts so that you can find the best platform that suits your needs. As the need for online learning options increases, we want to help students make the best decision for them.