Alphabet wants to help more than 20,000 Americans get job training and placement via a new $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund.
The project, which CEO Sundar Pichai called “a new kind of financing model,” aims to drive $1 billion in wage gains, and ultimately equip people with job-ready skills in fields like data analytics, IT support, project management, and UX design—no degree or experience required.
While Google invests capital and grants, Social Finance will provide funding to nonprofit partners like Merit America and Year Up, “who in turn will provide services like career coaching, live stipends, and job placement support,” Pichai explained.
Designed around student access, the program sees students earn Google Career Certificates and is available at no upfront cost. Participants are connected with a consortium of 150-plus companies looking to hire workers with these skills, and only pay it back once they land a job earning at least $40,000 a year. Social Finance will then redistribute repayments to future learners for a more sustainable model.
“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 said. “I’m excited to see all the ways this could be transformative for people, their families, and their communities.”
Pichai announced the fund at an event with US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Castillo and the CEOs of partners Social Finance, Merit America, and Year Up.
Microsoft last year introduced a similar campaign to bring 250,000 more people into the US cybersecurity industry. The company promised free curriculum to 4,000 US universities, cybersecurity training to community college faculty, and support for 25,000 students via the new Microsoft Cybersecurity Scholarship Program.
