Google Announces $75M AI Opportunity Fund and New Course to Skill One Million Americans

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 26, 2024 — Google today announced two new AI workforce development initiatives that build on its commitment to help all workers and learners realize the economic benefits of new technology. Through a $75 million AI Opportunity Fund, Google.org—the company’s philanthropy—will help over one million Americans learn essential AI skills by providing grants to best-in-class workforce development and education organizations.

Google.org grantee Goodwill Industries International training job seekers on digital skills. Credit: Google.

These organizations will provide AI skills training to rural and underserved communities, educators and students, public sector, nonprofit leaders and small businesses at no cost. The company is also launching a new Google AI Essentials course designed and taught by AI experts at Google. The online course is product agnostic, does not require a degree or experience, and will teach workers foundational AI skills, AI best practices, and how to use AI responsibly.

“AI offers significant opportunities to accelerate economic growth, particularly if people have access to the right resources and training,” said James Manyika, Senior Vice President for Research, Technology & Society at Google. “Google.org’s new AI Opportunity Fund and Google’s AI Essentials Course are important next steps in our commitment to ensure everyone, everywhere can access AI training. No single employer or policymaker will be able to modernize workforce programs on their own – we are committed to collaborating across industry, civil society and government to ensure the opportunities created by new technologies are available to everyone.”

According to the World Economic Forum, despite the rising demand for AI skills, only half of workers have access to adequate training opportunities today. Google believes that a collaborative approach is necessary to make AI training accessible to workers and local communities. One of the first recipients of Google.org’s AI Opportunity Fund is Goodwill. Since 2017, Goodwill’s offering of Google’s digital skills programs has resulted in 400,000 Americans being placed into well-paying jobs. With over 80% of Americans living within 10 miles of a Goodwill, the organization will provide AI training, including Google’s AI Essentials, at scale to local communities at no cost.

“Beginning in 2017, our digital skills training with Google.org has unlocked new opportunities for hundreds of thousands of workers, including many in lower-wage jobs,” said Steve Preston, president and CEO, Goodwill Industries International. “By expanding our efforts and leveraging Google’s new AI Essentials course, we can help US jobseekers attain the core digital and AI skills needed to step into well-paying jobs and greater prospects for economic mobility.”

Google’s new AI Essentials course will teach people to use generative AI effectively in day-to-day work. In under 10 hours, people will get practical, hands-on experience using AI to help with work tasks through videos, readings, and interactive exercises.The skills learned can be applied to a variety of roles across industries. After completing the course, people will earn a certificate from Google to share with their network. The course is $49 on Coursera, and will also be available through nonprofits, schools, and companies. Miami Dade College will provide the course to all students enrolled in its AI college-degree program, and Darden Executive Education and Lifelong Learning will provide the course to working professionals. Along with Google, employers including Citigroup will use the course to upskill employees in AI skills.

Today’s announcement builds on Google’s work to help Americans access digital skill training in local communities. This includes a recently announced Generative AI for Educators course, designed to help middle and high school teachers use generative AI tools. Since 2017, the company‘s Grow with Google program has trained over 11 million Americans in digital skills (including the Google Career Certificates) through a network of more than 9,000 partner organizations in all 50 states.

To learn more, visit grow.google/AI.

About Google

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Google Cloud, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google.org, Google’s philanthropy, brings the best of Google to help solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges combining funding, innovation, and technical expertise to support underserved communities and provide opportunity for everyone.

Source: Google