Photo Courtesy of The New York Times
According to Afrotech, Google announced the launch of their new program Grow with Google Career Readiness for Reentry program in honor of Second Chance Month, which will give free digital skills and job readiness training to 10,000 previously incarcerated people to assist with their re-entry into the workforce.
The program is a bi-product of the tech giant’s “Grow with Google.”
It’s an initiative that aims to help job-seekers acquire skills to equip them with various types of jobs.
It is meant to give previously imprisoned people fundamental digital skills focusing on applying for jobs online, creating a resume, entrepreneurship, and business budgeting.
According to a press release, the program was built with the help of partnerships of nonprofit organizations: The Last Mile, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), Defy Ventures, Fortune Society, and The Ladies of Hope Ministries.
Malika Saada Saar, Global Head of Human Rights at YouTube, said in a statement, “Lack of access to digital skills training and job coaching puts formerly incarcerated individuals at a severe disadvantage when trying to reenter the workforce and increase their economic potential.
“We are thrilled to work alongside program partners who have demonstrated true expertise and leadership in supporting successful reentry through digital skills training to men and women, mothers and fathers, impacted by incarceration.”
The program will also allow its partners to “integrate the planned out curriculum into their existing job readiness programs and provide job placement support to get people into paid apprenticeships and entrepreneur-in-residence programs,” according to Afrotech.
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Christopher Watler, Chief External Affairs Officer of CEO, said,” digital skills are essential for career success and economic mobility.”
“In a recent survey of CEO participants, 56 percent indicated a desire to learn digital skills. People leaving incarceration need immediate access to employment to support themselves and their families.”
“Most can’t afford to miss work to attend educational or training classes. Grow with Google provides a flexible and free digital skills learning platform that helps CEO to meet the digital skills learning needs of our participants,” he added.
The Grow with Google Career Readiness for Reentry program is only a small part of Google’s initiative to commit to racial equity and criminal justice reform. The company previously donated $40 million to criminal justice reform nonprofits and $60 million to computer science learning.