Google Partners with Columbia, UMich, ASU and Others to Offer Exclusive Programs to Students

Google have announced its working with Columbia University, the University of Michigan, Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business to offer new Industry Specializations in growing fields to complement the Google Career Certificates, which equip people with job-ready skills with no degree or experience required. Designed for individuals in continuing education programs, these specializations will equip Google Career Certificate graduates with additional skills for jobs in fields including sustainability and finance.

Over 80 percent of employers say that education more tailored to real-world career needs would improve the skills gap their business faces, and 92 percent of employers agree that a professional certificate strengthens a candidate’s application. To help address these employment gaps, the new courses are designed to teach skills in high-demand fields. The specializations include:

Construction Management by Columbia University Engineering
Fundamentals of Data analytics in the Public Sector with R by the University of Michigan
Financial analysis – Skills for Success by University of Illinois’ Gies School of Business
Sustainability Analyst Fundamentals by Arizona State University

To ensure people are learning job-ready skills, the new courses were reviewed by companies including Deloitte and Rocket Companies. These companies are in the Google Career Certificates employer consortium, which includes over 150 employers — including Deloitte, Ford, Verizon and Google — that are committed to considering certificate graduates for relevant roles.

“Google is thrilled to offer Google Career Certificate graduates additional pathways to great jobs through our collaboration with some of the world’s leading universities,” said Lisa Gevelber, Founder, Grow with Google. “These new courses provide a unique opportunity for people to learn from experts at Google and renowned university faculty to learn the skills needed for growing industries.”

“ASU, together with Google, is reimagining how we serve learners from all backgrounds and stages in life who are looking for career advancement opportunities,” said Maria Anguiano, Executive Vice President of the Arizona Learning Enterprise. “This career education program is driven by learner and industry needs for sustainability skills that are backed by robust academic expertise. Now, individuals don’t have to choose between learning from world-renowned scholars and gaining job skills that can be applied immediately at work. They can do both and succeed on their own terms.”

Community colleges across the U.S. are also offering the Google Career Certificates to further their workforce training offerings. This follows Google’s 2021 announcement that its certificates are free for all community colleges to add to curriculum at no cost.

Available on Coursera, the Google Career Certificates are in the high-growth fields of data analytics, digital marketing and e-commerce, IT support, project management, and user experience (UX) design. The certificates do not require a degree or experience and can be completed within 3-6 months of part-time study. There are over 100,000 graduates in the U.S. and seventy-five percent of them report a positive career impact within six months, such as a new job, higher pay, or a promotion. Fifty-five percent of graduates identify as Asian, Black, or Latino.

To learn more about the Google Career Certificates, visit grow.google/edu.