Google announced several of its latest initiatives at the Google for Indonesia 2021 event. Two of these programs focus on developing digital talent in Indonesia, including the Google Career Certificates program.
The program was previously launched in the United States last year, and is now being brought to Indonesia. Google Indonesia Head of Brand Marketing Muriel Makarim said this program was launched to help Indonesian workers affected by the pandemic to gain new digital skills.
"Here we see how the pandemic has made the unemployment rate higher in Indonesia, especially among young people. If we look at BPS data, the largest increase in unemployment is in the 20-29 year age group," said Muriel in a virtual press briefing, Thursday (2/12). /2021).
"Now this is what supports us to bring a global program called Google Career Certificates to Indonesia," he continued.
To help reach more participants, especially those from underprivileged groups, Google through its philanthropic arm Google.org will distribute a grant worth USD 2 million.
This grant will be distributed to the non-profit organization INCO in partnership with the Plan International Indonesia foundation. This grant will finance scholarships for 10,000 people to participate in the Google IT Support Certificate program through the online learning platform Coursera.
There are four majors to choose from, namely IT support, project management, UX design, and data analysis. But for now the only available program is IT support, while others will follow. All training programs will be available online and can be accessed flexibly according to participants' schedules.
This online course will include 200 hours of training and will be completed in approximately six months. Later, participants will be trained in the basics of IT networking, operating systems, and coding which can be used to register for entry-level jobs in the IT field.
Not only scholarship funds, selected participants will also receive additional support such as tutors, mentors, job readiness training, and assistance in finding jobs that match their skills. Google has also formed a recruitment consortium containing partner companies that are ready to hire participants after graduating from the certification program.
"From domestic companies, from abroad, there are Wings, Gojek, there is also Accenture. We hope that these Google Career Certificates can help create bigger career opportunities for thousands of people," concluded Muriel.