Google Brings IT Support Training to Community Colleges

student working on a laptop in college library

Starting this fall, Google's IT Support Professional Certificate will be available through more than 25 community colleges in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Texas, California and New York. The company's charitable arm, Google.org, is funding workforce development nonprofit JFF to help community colleges integrate the certificate into their IT education programs.

The IT Support Professional Certificate is an eight-month program hosted on Coursera, designed to help learners with no IT experience prepare for an entry-level job in the field. The Google-developed curriculum includes a mix of hands-on labs and interactive assessments on topics such as troubleshooting and customer service, networking, operating systems, system administration and security. The program is part of Google's Grow with Google initiative, an effort to expand access to digital tools, training and job opportunities across the country.

Upon completing the program, participants can opt to share their information directly with potential employers, including Bank of America, Walmart, Sprint, Infosys, TEKSystems, Hulu and Google itself.

"Google is committed to training the workforce of today and tomorrow, and we are thrilled to team up with community colleges to help graduates jump start a new career in IT Support," said Jesse Haines, director of Grow with Google, in a statement. "Community colleges play an important role in helping Americans get ahead, and they will be strong partners in Grow with Google's mission to create more economic opportunities for Americans."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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