National Small Business Week is being held this week (May 1-7) in the US. Marking the occasion, Google has today announced a new scholarship program aimed at helping businesses acquire advanced digital marketing knowledge. Google will also be introducing a new digital certificate course in digital marketing and eCommerce, which are both designed to address key skill gaps.
As Google explains:
“Three out of four US small-and-medium-sized businesses reported that adopting digital tools during the pandemic created new opportunities for their business. And digitally advanced businesses report 20 times better customer acquisition rates. Yet almost half (49%) of small businesses still lack the information and skills needed to use digital tools.”
These scholarships are worth up to $100,000 in workforce training per company and will provide increased opportunities for businesses to train staff in key skills to help them advance in the more modern age.
“Businesses can use Google Career Certificates to train their employees for jobs in data analytics, digital marketing & e-commerce, IT support, project management, or user experience (UX) design. No experience is required, and employees can earn an industry-recognized credential in three to six months of part-time study. For every scholarship we give, a business will be gaining capabilities and, at the same time, an employee will be growing new skills.”
Each certificate program can be completed as a part-time study, requiring roughly anywhere between 5 – 10 hours a week for 3 – 6 months, depending on your schedule and availability. The program will be available until December of 2024, providing significant training opportunities for various businesses until then. The only real downside here is that it’s only currently available to US organizations.
For Google, this new initiative helps promote its other training programs and tools, with the initial elements being totally FREE of charge. There are add-on components if you wish to be more comprehensive, which have varying degrees of cost. To add, Google’s also launching a new Digital Marketing and eCommerce Certificate that specifically focuses on SMBs and training smaller operators in the ways of digital marketing. Check out this trailer for a little extra detail.
The courses are run by Google employees who also happen to be SMBs, while those learning will get to experience hands-on some of the most popular tools for digital marketing and eCommerce, including the likes of Canva, Hootsuite, HubSpot, and Twitter.
The Wrap
To be clear, these courses are not for free, but are more affordable than most, coming in at roughly $300 to complete the whole certification. These are certainly useful initiatives that address key areas of demand, helping businesses better adapt to modern market challenges, especially during this boom in interest in eCommerce.
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