Google Canada commits $600,000 to reskill Indigenous job seekers for new careers in technology
December 21, 2021
Google Canada announced a $600,000 commitment to provide free digital skills training to Indigenous job seekers across Canada. The support includes a $500,000 Google.org grant towards ComIT’s Recoding Futures IT training program, an additional $100,000 in funding to support Indspire with their education and job training programs and an allocation of Google Career Certificate scholarships for Indigenous job seekers. Today’s support is in addition to Google Canada’s $2 million commitment to reskill job seekers for new careers in technology in under six months, announced earlier this year.
Research shows there’s a significant skills and education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in Canada, particularly when it comes to connectivity, graduation rates and digital literacy. The economic impact of the pandemic has increased this divide, disproportionately impacting the employment rates of Indigenous populations. As Canada rebuilds its economy post COVID-19, Google Canada, ComIT and Indspire will work toward a common goal of bridging this longstanding gap, increase free access to digital skills education, and support economic growth within Indigenous communities.
“The social and economic hardships felt by many during this pandemic have brought some heavy truths to the surface and we now have an opportunity to build back a more inclusive and resilient economy,” says Sabrina Geremia, VP & Country Manager, Google Canada. “We’re proud to support ComIT and Indspire to deepen our commitment in digital skills training in high demand fields, create opportunities for Indigenous job seekers entering the tech workforce and increase Indigenous representation in our technology workforce.”
ComIT’s Recoding Futures program was created last year with the support of Google.org to provide IT training to Indigenous learners across Canada. The program runs virtually and covers topics like Design Thinking, HTML, CSS, Javascript .NET, Python, React and Node. To help complete the transition from learning to employment, ComIT offers courses on resume building, interview skills training, and other soft skill development opportunities to help with the transition from learning to employment.
Source: Benzinga
