As the demand for data analysts continues to grow, Google is stepping up to help build the talent pipeline. Last week, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the launch of the $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund, which will allow 20,000 American workers to earn a certificate in fields including data analytics, IT support, project management, and user experience design. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of data analyst jobs will grow about 25% between 2020 and 2030, which the bureau deems as “much faster than average.”
“What we’ve learned over the last five years is what can be accomplished when private-sector companies like ours come together with public-sector institutions and nonprofit partners,” Pichai said in his announcement.
Google, acting as an investor, will use company capital and Google.org grants to provide its Career Certificate program to students at no upfront cost. Certificate programs such as data analytics can be completed entirely online. Social Finance, a finance and advisory nonprofit, will provide the funding to nonprofit partners including Merit America and Year Up.
As part of the program, Merit America and Year Up will provide career coaching, living stipends, interview prep, child care, transportation, and job placement support, according to the announcement. Then, Google will connect the students to a group of more than 150 companies who are looking to hire workers with those skills they’ve learned through the program.
“The Biden administration is laser-focused on creating good-paying jobs for American workers, and it is especially important for us to come up with creative solutions that enable women and parents to fully participate in our economy,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement announcing the program. “Top business leaders understand that investments like child care are fundamentally investments that enable people to work.”
Through the initiative, there won’t be any upfront cost to complete the program, but students will have to pay for the program once they land a position making at least $40,000 per year. The data analytics certificate program typically costs students less than $300 to complete, according to Coursera, since many students complete the program in six months or less. Coursera, which hosts the Google Career Certificate program, charges $39 per month for access to the program.
Students who earn less than $40,000 per year don’t have to pay anything to complete the program. Repayments will be reinvested back into the program, according to Social Finance. On average, entry-level data analysts make more than $67,000 per year, according to statistics provided to Coursera by Burning Glass. Program participants who make more than $40,000 per year will make no-interest monthly payments.
“It’s another promising example of how the entire ecosystem—from private companies to nonprofits—can work together to help more Americans access economic opportunities,” Pichai wrote in his announcement. “I’m excited to see all the ways this could be transformative for people, their families and their communities.”
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