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In 2020, Google announced it would be replacing the need for college degrees with a certificate system, increasing access to careers within the tech giant. Google said the accolades would be granted upon completion of six-month courses providing training for a range of in-demand careers, taking a fraction of the time it would take to obtain an equivalent qualification at University. Today, it was announced that Google Career Certificates are finally launching in the UK, in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The certificates, Google says, come just in the nick of time for a world still reacting to the ongoing and ever-changing demands placed on employees during the pandemic. They cite research conducted by Google and The McKinsey Global Institute in their release, which claims that – even before COVID-19 – over 90 million workers were in a position whereby they would need to develop “significant new skills” by 2030 to compete within the job market.
UK data would appear to support the results, with searches for “information technology online course”, “business management course online” and “online courses with certificates” increasing by 780, 296, and 259 percent respectively in the last week.
“To support the need to learn these new skills, we’re distributing 9,500 Google Career Certificate scholarships in the U.K. through government partnerships with the DWP (9,000) and Camden Council (500),” wrote Ronan Harris, Vice President and MD for Google UK & Ireland, in a blog post about the launch. “We’re also providing grant funding to The Prince’s Trust and INCO Academy via Google.org to ensure that an additional 1,500 young people from underrepresented and disadvantaged communities across the U.K. can take advantage of the training opportunity.”
There are four Google Career Certificates to choose from, including IT Support, Data Analyst, Project Manager, and UX Designer. They’re estimated to take around six months to complete and will be recognized by experts and employers working in tech, including, of course, Google.
You can find out more about what the Google Career Certificates can offer here.
