Emerging Nations 1
Google to Train 1 Million Africans for Job Readiness
Google Inc. is working on a project to start a series of digital skills training programs in the next year. These programs are aimed at skilling Africans who are suffering due to a slow global economy, with unemployment being rife.
The company is slated to train 300,000 people in South Africa, where the majority of millennials (up to 35%) are unemployed. 600,000 youth from emerging nations like Kenya and Nigeria will be given digital training at no cost, while another 100,000 will be chosen from other sub-Saharan Africa countries.
Google South Africa country head Luke Mckend said, “Google is in Africa for the long haul and we are making an investment in talent. We hope that the people trained will become pioneers in the field and do great things in digital for companies and for Google.”
He also said that this was only the first step in progress and to see Africa conquer the digital world much more needed to be done. He went on to say that the Internet is a great tool for starting new businesses and growing exiting ones, and Google is dedicated to its mission in helping Africa’s emerging markets maximize on the digital revolution.
To accomplish its goal, google has tied up with Livity Africa to create training programs and will soon be setting up an online education website for learners in the African nations. The company is also in talks with several other potential partners across the continent to expand the outreach of the digital skills program and be able to get to even more young learners across Africa.
A TeleGeography Global Internet Geography report has claimed that the internet bandwidth in Africa has gone up 41% between 2014 and 2015. Google has investigated the possibility of Africa having 500 million Internet users by 2020. This is a useful piece of data for the company as it can leverage the Internet users to create a strong workforce for the economy.
