Author Archives: Matt Brittin

Google’s European Growth Engine: 2 million trained and counting

When we first launched the Growth Engine programme in February 2015 , we set a target of training 1 million Europeans in critical digital skills. Within a year we’d reached our goal, and extended it to 2 million.

Today, we’re delighted to announce that we’ve hit that target -  we’ve now helped 2 million Europeans learn about and improve upon digital skills.

That included people like Carlo Reviglio; now an intern at BikeSquare, a development company that works closely with the Italian tourism company Itaway, which helps tourists rent electric bikes. Carlo learned SEO and digital marketing skills through courses offered as part of Google’s Crescere in Digitale  programme, and was then selected for a traineeship run in partnership with the Italian Ministry of Labour in the framework of the EU Commission Youth Guarantee.  

That traineeship led to his internship with the BikeSquare team, where Carlo has worked to improve the platform’s performance, doubling in the number of e-bike rentals through Itaway in just a year.

Carlo’s success is remarkable--but happily not entirely unique: He’s one of scores of Europeans trained in digital skills through Google programmes. According to the European Commission, almost half the EU population (47%) is not properly digitally skilled, resulting in 700,000 unfilled jobs by 2020 because of this skills gap. Our programmes across Europe have a goal of helping as many people as possible make the most of the digital opportunity brought by the Internet.

With Commissioner Oettinger in Brussels
With Commissioner Oettinger in Brussels

We heard the call from the European Commission and others: we must all work together to fill this skills gap and so today we’re delighted to have this work recognised by Commissioner Günther Oettinger, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy. Today Commissioner Oettinger presented our Growth Engine programme with an award for helping businesses and individuals succeed in digital.

Our programmes cater for everyone from entrepreneurs, to small businesses, to app developers and individuals. People of all ages, backgrounds and interests have taken part in our training programmes.

But there’s still more to be done, and so today we pledged to the EU Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition.

Over the coming year, we pledge to continue to support Europeans to gain essential digital skills through the following initiatives:

  • Digital Workshop – our digital skills training programme which provides free online and offline training training to anyone looking to gain essential digital marketing skills, including young job seekers, entrepreneurs and small businesses.

  • Funding 10,000 Android scholarships via Udacity and in partnership with Bertelsmann for EU mobile developers.

  • Computer Science First - a free program focused on increasing 9-14 yo students’ exposure to computer science education, through after-school and in-school programs led by teachers.

We’ll also be deepening our partnership with national, regional and local governments, as well as private sector businesses, to expand our national training programmes beyond the EU.

My hope is that, a year from now, tens of thousands more Europeans will be able to share similar stories to Carlo’s. There’s so much more to do, and we’re here to help.

Google’s European Growth Engine: 2 million trained and counting

When we first launched the Growth Engine programme in February 2015 , we set a target of training 1 million Europeans in critical digital skills. Within a year we’d reached our goal, and extended it to 2 million.

Today, we’re delighted to announce that we’ve hit that target -  we’ve now helped 2 million Europeans learn about and improve upon digital skills.

That included people like Carlo Reviglio; now an intern at BikeSquare, a development company that works closely with the Italian tourism company Itaway, which helps tourists rent electric bikes. Carlo learned SEO and digital marketing skills through courses offered as part of Google’s Crescere in Digitale  programme, and was then selected for a traineeship run in partnership with the Italian Ministry of Labour in the framework of the EU Commission Youth Guarantee.  

That traineeship led to his internship with the BikeSquare team, where Carlo has worked to improve the platform’s performance, doubling in the number of e-bike rentals through Itaway in just a year.

Carlo’s success is remarkable--but happily not entirely unique: He’s one of scores of Europeans trained in digital skills through Google programmes. According to the European Commission, almost half the EU population (47%) is not properly digitally skilled, resulting in 700,000 unfilled jobs by 2020 because of this skills gap. Our programmes across Europe have a goal of helping as many people as possible make the most of the digital opportunity brought by the Internet.

With Commissioner Oettinger in Brussels
With Commissioner Oettinger in Brussels

We heard the call from the European Commission and others: we must all work together to fill this skills gap and so today we’re delighted to have this work recognised by Commissioner Günther Oettinger, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy. Today Commissioner Oettinger presented our Growth Engine programme with an award for helping businesses and individuals succeed in digital.

Our programmes cater for everyone from entrepreneurs, to small businesses, to app developers and individuals. People of all ages, backgrounds and interests have taken part in our training programmes.

But there’s still more to be done, and so today we pledged to the EU Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition.

Over the coming year, we pledge to continue to support Europeans to gain essential digital skills through the following initiatives:

  • Digital Workshop – our digital skills training programme which provides free online and offline training training to anyone looking to gain essential digital marketing skills, including young job seekers, entrepreneurs and small businesses.

  • Funding 10,000 Android scholarships via Udacity and in partnership with Bertelsmann for EU mobile developers.

  • Computer Science First - a free program focused on increasing 9-14 yo students’ exposure to computer science education, through after-school and in-school programs led by teachers.

We’ll also be deepening our partnership with national, regional and local governments, as well as private sector businesses, to expand our national training programmes beyond the EU.

My hope is that, a year from now, tens of thousands more Europeans will be able to share similar stories to Carlo’s. There’s so much more to do, and we’re here to help.

Google’s European Growth Engine: 2 million trained and counting

When we first launched the Growth Engine programme in February 2015 , we set a target of training 1 million Europeans in critical digital skills. Within a year we’d reached our goal, and extended it to 2 million.

Today, we’re delighted to announce that we’ve hit that target -  we’ve now helped 2 million Europeans learn about and improve upon digital skills.

That included people like Carlo Reviglio; now an intern at BikeSquare, a development company that works closely with the Italian tourism company Itaway, which helps tourists rent electric bikes. Carlo learned SEO and digital marketing skills through courses offered as part of Google’s Crescere in Digitale  programme, and was then selected for a traineeship run in partnership with the Italian Ministry of Labour in the framework of the EU Commission Youth Guarantee.  

That traineeship led to his internship with the BikeSquare team, where Carlo has worked to improve the platform’s performance, doubling in the number of e-bike rentals through Itaway in just a year.

Carlo’s success is remarkable--but happily not entirely unique: He’s one of scores of Europeans trained in digital skills through Google programmes. According to the European Commission, almost half the EU population (47%) is not properly digitally skilled, resulting in 700,000 unfilled jobs by 2020 because of this skills gap. Our programmes across Europe have a goal of helping as many people as possible make the most of the digital opportunity brought by the Internet.

With Commissioner Oettinger in Brussels
With Commissioner Oettinger in Brussels

We heard the call from the European Commission and others: we must all work together to fill this skills gap and so today we’re delighted to have this work recognised by Commissioner Günther Oettinger, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy. Today Commissioner Oettinger presented our Growth Engine programme with an award for helping businesses and individuals succeed in digital.

Our programmes cater for everyone from entrepreneurs, to small businesses, to app developers and individuals. People of all ages, backgrounds and interests have taken part in our training programmes.

But there’s still more to be done, and so today we pledged to the EU Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition.

Over the coming year, we pledge to continue to support Europeans to gain essential digital skills through the following initiatives:

  • Digital Workshop – our digital skills training programme which provides free online and offline training training to anyone looking to gain essential digital marketing skills, including young job seekers, entrepreneurs and small businesses.

  • Funding 10,000 Android scholarships via Udacity and in partnership with Bertelsmann for EU mobile developers.

  • Computer Science First - a free program focused on increasing 9-14 yo students’ exposure to computer science education, through after-school and in-school programs led by teachers.

We’ll also be deepening our partnership with national, regional and local governments, as well as private sector businesses, to expand our national training programmes beyond the EU.

My hope is that, a year from now, tens of thousands more Europeans will be able to share similar stories to Carlo’s. There’s so much more to do, and we’re here to help.

Google and Bertelsmann launch mobile digital skills initiatives with Udacity – 10,000 Android scholarships available for EU developers

The great thing about the web is that it enables anyone - from anywhere, of any age, and any skillset - to start a new business, grow an existing one, become an entrepreneur, a developer or a content creator or hone a new skill. From Berlin to Birmingham we’ve met people across Europe who are doing just that - developing the digital know-how needed to achieve their dreams.

Like Evrard in France, who works for GreenRiver, a small company providing private cruises along the river Seine and the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris. He joined our training programme Google pour Les Pros, where he was trained by a Google AdWords advisor over three months. He learned how to launch digital marketing campaigns and discovered other tools that helped increase their online visibility. He told us, “After Google pour Les Pros training our business grew by 30% and sales grew by 60% in one year”. Green River is now using Evrard’s learning as a stepping stone to further success.

Evrard is just one of the nearly 2 million people we’ve trained over the last 2 years as part of our Growth Engine programme to help close the digital skills gap among Europeans. And yet there’s still more work to be done. On current projections, the growing gap between skills required and the training that workers receive, has lead the EU to predict that almost a million ICT jobs would remain unfilled by 2020.

That’s why today Google, Bertelsmann (the global media, services and education company) and e-learning provider Udacity are coming together with a goal of closing the mobile digital skills gap in Europe and preparing the new European workforce with the mobile development skills needed to help them get a job or start their own business.

Udacity Android scholarship announcemtn
With Vishal Makhijani of Udacity and Steven Moran of Bertelsmann at Monday's announcement

In Europe, more than half the population primarily uses their mobile phone to access the web, and that’s only increasing. This represents a huge opportunity for ambitious Europeans to join the more than 1.3 million developers in the region benefitting from the advancement of the mobile economy. According to Stackoverflow 2015 study, 42% of developers are self taught and could benefit from acquiring new expertise to take them to the next level. Android tops the list of new languages that developers want to learn.

We want to help, which is why we’re funding 10,000 Android Developer training scholarships across the EU via Udacity. Aspiring developers can apply for one of 9,000 scholarships for an Android Basics course and more experienced programmers for one of 1,000 scholarships for the Associate Android Developer Fast Track, a training course that leads to Android developer certification, a key credential for the industry. Applications are open at https://www.udacity.com/google-scholarships.

At the same time, Bertelsmann will start shifting skill-building and training budgets across its about 1,000 businesses towards ICT, in conjunction with Udacity’s training programs. In addition, starting next year, every qualified apprentice, student and trainee at Bertelsmann - about 2,000 women and men across Europe - will be granted a Nanodegree scholarship.

By getting together with Bertelsmann and Udacity we aim to close the mobile digital skills gap, and help people to get the in-demand skills needed to get a job or advance their career. These scholarships are a chance for all aspiring mobile developers to make the most of the opportunity by mastering accredited digital skills that will put them on the path to success. We look forward to seeing what they do next.

Google and Bertelsmann launch mobile digital skills initiatives with Udacity – 10,000 Android scholarships available for EU developers

The great thing about the web is that it enables anyone - from anywhere, of any age, and any skillset - to start a new business, grow an existing one, become an entrepreneur, a developer or a content creator or hone a new skill. From Berlin to Birmingham we’ve met people across Europe who are doing just that - developing the digital know-how needed to achieve their dreams.

Like Evrard in France, who works for GreenRiver, a small company providing private cruises along the river Seine and the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris. He joined our training programme Google pour Les Pros, where he was trained by a Google AdWords advisor over three months. He learned how to launch digital marketing campaigns and discovered other tools that helped increase their online visibility. He told us, “After Google pour Les Pros training our business grew by 30% and sales grew by 60% in one year”. Green River is now using Evrard’s learning as a stepping stone to further success.

Evrard is just one of the nearly 2 million people we’ve trained over the last 2 years as part of our Growth Engine programme to help close the digital skills gap among Europeans. And yet there’s still more work to be done. On current projections, the growing gap between skills required and the training that workers receive, has lead the EU to predict that almost a million ICT jobs would remain unfilled by 2020.

That’s why today Google, Bertelsmann (the global media, services and education company) and e-learning provider Udacity are coming together with a goal of closing the mobile digital skills gap in Europe and preparing the new European workforce with the mobile development skills needed to help them get a job or start their own business.

Udacity Android scholarship announcemtn
With Vishal Makhijani of Udacity and Steven Moran of Bertelsmann at Monday's announcement

In Europe, more than half the population primarily uses their mobile phone to access the web, and that’s only increasing. This represents a huge opportunity for ambitious Europeans to join the more than 1.3 million developers in the region benefitting from the advancement of the mobile economy. According to Stackoverflow 2015 study, 42% of developers are self taught and could benefit from acquiring new expertise to take them to the next level. Android tops the list of new languages that developers want to learn.

We want to help, which is why we’re funding 10,000 Android Developer training scholarships across the EU via Udacity. Aspiring developers can apply for one of 9,000 scholarships for an Android Basics course and more experienced programmers for one of 1,000 scholarships for the Associate Android Developer Fast Track, a training course that leads to Android developer certification, a key credential for the industry. Applications are open at https://www.udacity.com/google-scholarships.

At the same time, Bertelsmann will start shifting skill-building and training budgets across its about 1,000 businesses towards ICT, in conjunction with Udacity’s training programs. In addition, starting next year, every qualified apprentice, student and trainee at Bertelsmann - about 2,000 women and men across Europe - will be granted a Nanodegree scholarship.

By getting together with Bertelsmann and Udacity we aim to close the mobile digital skills gap, and help people to get the in-demand skills needed to get a job or advance their career. These scholarships are a chance for all aspiring mobile developers to make the most of the opportunity by mastering accredited digital skills that will put them on the path to success. We look forward to seeing what they do next.

Google and Bertelsmann launch mobile digital skills initiatives with Udacity – 10,000 Android scholarships available for EU developers

The great thing about the web is that it enables anyone - from anywhere, of any age, and any skillset - to start a new business, grow an existing one, become an entrepreneur, a developer or a content creator or hone a new skill. From Berlin to Birmingham we’ve met people across Europe who are doing just that - developing the digital know-how needed to achieve their dreams.

Like Evrard in France, who works for GreenRiver, a small company providing private cruises along the river Seine and the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris. He joined our training programme Google pour Les Pros, where he was trained by a Google AdWords advisor over three months. He learned how to launch digital marketing campaigns and discovered other tools that helped increase their online visibility. He told us, “After Google pour Les Pros training our business grew by 30% and sales grew by 60% in one year”. Green River is now using Evrard’s learning as a stepping stone to further success.

Evrard is just one of the nearly 2 million people we’ve trained over the last 2 years as part of our Growth Engine programme to help close the digital skills gap among Europeans. And yet there’s still more work to be done. On current projections, the growing gap between skills required and the training that workers receive, has lead the EU to predict that almost a million ICT jobs would remain unfilled by 2020.

That’s why today Google, Bertelsmann (the global media, services and education company) and e-learning provider Udacity are coming together with a goal of closing the mobile digital skills gap in Europe and preparing the new European workforce with the mobile development skills needed to help them get a job or start their own business.

Udacity Android scholarship announcemtn
With Vishal Makhijani of Udacity and Steven Moran of Bertelsmann at today's announcement

In Europe, more than half the population primarily uses their mobile phone to access the web, and that’s only increasing. This represents a huge opportunity for ambitious Europeans to join the more than 1.3 million developers in the region benefitting from the advancement of the mobile economy. According to Stackoverflow 2015 study, 42% of developers are self taught and could benefit from acquiring new expertise to take them to the next level. Android tops the list of new languages that developers want to learn.

We want to help, which is why we’re funding 10,000 Android Developer training scholarships across the EU via Udacity. Aspiring developers can apply for one of 9,000 scholarships for an Android Basics course and more experienced programmers for one of 1,000 scholarships for the Associate Android Developer Fast Track, a training course that leads to Android developer certification, a key credential for the industry. Applications are open at https://www.udacity.com/google-scholarships.

At the same time, Bertelsmann will start shifting skill-building and training budgets across its about 1,000 businesses towards ICT, in conjunction with Udacity’s training programs. In addition, starting next year, every qualified apprentice, student and trainee at Bertelsmann - about 2,000 women and men across Europe - will be granted a Nanodegree scholarship.

By getting together with Bertelsmann and Udacity we aim to close the mobile digital skills gap, and help people to get the in-demand skills needed to get a job or advance their career. These scholarships are a chance for all aspiring mobile developers to make the most of the opportunity by mastering accredited digital skills that will put them on the path to success. We look forward to seeing what they do next.