Nearly two-thirds of the 13 million new jobs created in the US since 2010 required medium or advanced levels of digital skills like digital marketing, data analytics, or computer programming. And digital skills are set to become more in-demand in the future, research from the Council on Foreign Relations shows.
But 50% of Black job seekers today lack sufficient digital skills, per the nonprofit the National Skills Coalition.
To help close the racial gap in digital skills, Google announced last week a new program with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to provide 20,000 students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with access to digital skills training starting in November.
Google is working first with four institutions: Bowie State University, Virginia State University, Winston-Salem State University, and Southern University A&M College. Some 16 more HBCUs will join the program in January. By the fall of 2021, the program will be available to all HBCUs.
The new program is part of its $15 million June investment to bridge the racial digital skills gap, which comes amid the tech giant's larger $175 million commitment to racial equity.
