Goodwill and Google are expanding the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator

The U.S. Department of Labor reported that there are 7.1 million job openings in the United States and that the nation’s workforce is in need of improving its tech skills. Two organizations are expanding a program that aims to resolve that.

Rockville, Md—based Goodwill Industries International and Google.org, the media giant’s philanthropic organization, are expanding an accelerator program from 93 locations in 34 states to 126 locations nationwide.

Originally launched in October 2017, the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator was created to help workers improve their digital skills – from basic keyboarding to advanced computer programming and social media-  for entry and mid-level occupations, a news release states. The program is part of the Grow with Google initiative to create economic opportunities for all Americans.

The accelerator has five different training levels:

• Digital Skills Awareness
• Basic Digital Skills Training
• Productivity Software Skills
• Entry-Level Digital Skills
• Mid-level and Occupation-Specific Digital Skills

The accelerator started with a three-year, $10 million-dollar commitment. It’s expanding after the success of the first year, in which the program reported helping more than 250,000 people improve their digital knowledge and connected about 27,000 job seekers with employment opportunities.

In just over a year into our @Googleorg partnership with @GoodwillIntl, we've helped a quarter of a million Americans learn new digital skills, and 27,000 people find a job. #GrowWithGoogle https://t.co/tfqxKixJmh

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) April 10, 2019

“Thanks to the early success of this program, Goodwill and Google.org are extending its reach to workers across the country as we aim to train more than 1.25 million workers with the digital skills needed to succeed in today’s job market and prepare for the changing workforce,” Steven C. Preston, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International said in a statement.

Google.org made a commitment to provide 1,000 Google volunteers and mentors to the program and to date, 200 volunteers have already trained workers seeking better digital skills. Google’s philanthropic arm also embedded seven of its fellows at Goodwill locations nationwide.

“This effort was made possible by the strong collaboration we’ve formed with Goodwill Industries International, building on the good work they do every day to help extend opportunity,” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google said in a statement. “We are proud of the work we’ve done together through the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator, and look forward to continuing our work with them to equip more Americans with the digital skills they need to succeed.”