The way we work has changed. When millions of people around the world had to turn their homes into virtual offices due to the COVID-19 pandemic, technology became essential to stay connected with their day-to-day work. This uptake in technology use and the impact of the pandemic on the labor market have fundamentally transformed how we conduct business and the type of skills needed in the workforce.

As jobs with routine tasks like clerical work or bookkeeping become more automated, it's important for governments to invest in their workforce so everyone can get the digital skills needed to succeed in today's job market. That includes closing the digital skills gap for those who are at greatest risk of job displacement: women, those on lower incomes, young and disabled people, migrant populations and ethnic minorities who have borne the brunt of the economic fallout.

A full year after joining the European Commission Pact for Skills — an initiative to upskill and reskill the workforce — we are sharing the key characteristics that we feel should be considered when developing job training solutions. We draw on our experience implementing initiatives to help workers get the skills they need to get a job or grow their business. Since 2015, over 18 million people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa have participated in our Grow with Google training, resulting in more than 4 million people getting a new job, growing their career or growing their business.*

Provide in-demand training that's
accessible to everyone

Earlier this year we announced Google Career Certificates. These affordable courses were designed for people with no prior experience to foster new skills in high-demand areas like IT support and data analytics. Hosted on the Coursera platform, they help people who want to learn online at their own pace, or who may want to change careers and don't have the time or means to access traditional education. Moreover, they are designed to prepare learners for a new job within less than 6 months.

Invest in public-private sector partnerships

Addressing the challenges of the future of work requires collaboration between governments, companies and community organizations. Public organizations are often in the front line of addressing job displacement needs and play a crucial role in reaching those most in need of training. Google has partnered with organizations to helpreach trade unions and workers in the transport and logistics sector, developing programs to helpwomen build confidence in their leadership skills and funding nonprofits to provide critical services forunderserved small businesses.

We are providing 100,000 Google Career Certificates scholarships in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in collaboration with local organizations. Half of these scholarships go to learners from vulnerable populations through grant funding from Google.org to INCO for personalized coaching, mentorship, resume writing and other wraparound support. INCO has partnered with over 30 European non profits like Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG), an organization serving the Roma community in Spain.

Thanks to FSG, Alba Bermúdez in Madrid for instance was able to learn about the scholarships for the Career Certificates. Since the age of 16, Alba worked in craft fairs, as a clerk at a local flea market and most recently as a hairdresser assistant. After losing her job during the lockdown, she decided to use the scholarship from FSG for the IT Support course as she had always been curious about getting into the technology field. Shortly after finishing the course, she found a job in IT support.

In the UK, we're providing scholarships for more than 10,000 people to be able to take these courses for free, including a partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions specifically aimed at jobseekers. We also worked with the Greek Ministry of Labor and the local manpower employer organization, OAED, to offer bespoke training programs in digital marketing, IT support and entrepreneurship to 10,000 unemployed young people in Greece. We have also partnered with Techfugees to provide digital skills training to unemployed refugees in Uganda, Kenya, Lebanon and the UK. These are just a few examples of partnerships with organizations in the region to provide financial assistance for digital skills trainings.

Work hand-in-hand with employers

While there are people that cannot find a job because they don't have the right skills, 40% of employers in Europe also struggle to find qualified people. To ensure digital skills training directly translates into jobs, we are working with companies and organizations who recognize the Google Career Certificates and openly express their interest in receiving applications from graduates.

We know that no entity or industry can tackle these challenges alone. Instead, it’s a shared responsibility, one that will require public policy solutions as well as efforts on the part of businesses, communities, and civil society groups. At Google, we are committed to doing our part. We have a once in a generation opportunity to boost the prospects of an inclusive and sustainable digital future that works for everyone.

*Analysis by Google based on internal data and a survey by Ipsos from Sep 2016 to Sep 2021 amongst EMEA residents trained via Digital Workshop

During the pandemic, online tools have been a lifeline, helping us to stay connected, learn and work remotely and support local businesses. These same tools are vital to help Europe’s economic recovery, where we see an urgent need for new sets of digital skills. In fact, research conducted by Google and The McKinsey Global Institute before COVID-19 shows that, to ensure job creation, more than 90 million workers may need to develop significant new skills.

The pandemic has only accelerated this trend. Google has responded by renewing our commitment to skills training through our Grow with Google program, which has trained millions of people on digital skills since it was founded five years ago, and contributed to two million Europeans finding a new job or growing their business or career. Since lockdowns started in March, we’ve trained an additional one million people in Europe alone. This includes Korina in Greece, who after attending our local training, went on to build an app that connects farmers in need for support with workers looking for jobs. Or Noemi in Italy, who learned new skills so she could help local small businesses to digitize and grow. 

Supporting Europe’s Pact for Skills

This would not have been possible without our many partners across Europe—from e-learning experts and universities, to governments, chambers of commerce and trade unions. This is why we’re proud to support the European Commission’s newly launched Pact for Skills—an approach that brings together the public and private sectors, social partners, education, training and employment agencies to help people across Europe learn new skills.

As part of this commitment, we’re providing scholarships for 100,000 people in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to take the new Google Career Certificates hosted on Coursera. These certificates will prepare learners with no prior experience to apply for jobs in high-growth career areas such as IT support, project management, user experience and design, and data analytics. The programs are product agnostic and are designed to help people prepare for jobs at any company, in any sector. We’ll be working with our partners in the coming months to launch these certificates and make them available all over Europe and beyond. 

Economic recovery that works for everyone

Research shows that some groups will be disproportionately affected, with those without a tertiary education (e.g. university degree) being twice as likely to have their jobs at risk as those with a university degree.

To address this, we are dedicating fifty thousand of these scholarships to members of underserved groups who face significant social and economic barriers to accessing and completing these courses.

As part of this effort, Google.org is giving an initial grant of €4.6 million to INCO to work with local nonprofit partners across 17 European countries. Together, they will provide learners with wrap-around services at every step of the learning journey, including career advice, interview preparation, childcare vouchers, learning groups, language support and peer-to-peer networks.

Of course, training is just the first step. To connect people with in-demand skills with real job opportunities, we’re also gathering a consortium of companies interested in hiring people who have earned Google Career Certificates. We're excited to be joined by members such as Bayer and ARD, and we’re inviting all types of businesses to join Google in this initiative. 

As Europe faces the next phase of this pandemic, we’re as committed as ever to working together on these pressing challenges. By supporting this flagship initiative under the European Skills Agenda, we look forward to helping to build an economic recovery that is digital, sustainable and that works for everyone.